In a harrowing incident, a 59-year-old man from Kerala, India, was trapped in a hospital lift for 42 hours without food, water, or light. Raveendran Nair, a local CPI leader and employee at the legislators’ hostel, visited the Government Medical College for back pain treatment on Saturday morning. After an X-ray, he entered the lift to meet his doctor, only to find himself stuck between floors.
Nair recounted his ordeal, describing how he repeatedly pressed the alarm button and called emergency numbers listed inside the lift, but received no response. His phone eventually fell and stopped working, leaving him in complete darkness. “I cried out loud and kept pressing the alarm,” he said. “I thought I would die there”.
His family, initially unaware of his predicament, began a frantic search when he didn’t return home on Sunday. They registered a missing person’s report with the local police.
Nair was finally rescued on Monday morning when a lift operator reported for duty and discovered him. The incident has prompted the state government to suspend three technicians and launch an inquiry into the hospital’s lift maintenance protocols.
Nair is currently recovering in the hospital, being treated for dehydration and back pain. The state’s health minister has apologized for the incident, and an investigation is underway to prevent such occurrences in the future
