Recently, in Pingqiao District, Henan, a malfunction occurred in the elevator of Unit 2 on the 3rd floor of the World City·Huadu complex, leading to residents being trapped inside. Authorities reported that a resident tragically fell to their death during the rescue organized by the property management company, sparking questioning from the homeowners.
On August 15th, a screenshot from the online chat group “World City Homeowners” revealed an incident involving the elevator in the complex, with ambulances and police cars rushing to the scene.
The family of the victim, surnamed Zuo, aged 58, who lived in the complex with children, shared that the elevator was stuck between the 8th and 9th floors at the time of the incident.
The Pingqiao District government office reported on August 16th that on the morning of the 15th around 11 a.m., a community homeowner named Zuo was trapped in the elevator due to a sudden malfunction and unfortunately fell to their death during the rescue operation organized by the property management company.
However, a homeowner online claimed that it was the “property management’s maintenance failure that led to the tragedy.” Another netizen added, “The property staff guided the trapped individuals to come out, but failed to catch them…” Yet, these points were not addressed in the reports or official announcements. A netizen from a neighboring complex insisted, “This is the truth that the news is hiding.” Another from the same neighborhood revealed, “The body was forcefully taken away.”
A homeowner expressed, “We have repeatedly reported elevator malfunctions to the World City property management without any rectification, which ultimately resulted in this accident.”
Information about the No. 3 building in the World City·Huadu complex indicates that it was completed on November 11, 2019. According to homeowners in the complex, it was just delivered for occupancy last year, making it a newly built community.
Following the incident, many netizens noted that the elevators in the World City complex frequently malfunction, with one saying, “The elevator stops working or won’t close properly every day, it’s terrifying!… I once got stuck inside with my child, no signal on my phone, and after a while, someone from outside operated the elevator to get us out, it was frightening. Living on the 16th floor, I often take the stairs out of fear, now even more so.”
Elevator incidents are not uncommon in mainland China. A netizen from Jiangxi shared, “One night at midnight, my husband and I were trapped in the elevator, constantly opening and closing doors on the 18th floor, it was terrifying. I even wrote a farewell letter, deciding my mother would receive the compensation and care for my daughter. Fortunately, we were rescued, so I deleted the letter.”
Netizens from Shandong mentioned, “One of the two elevators in our building has been stuck on the 8th floor for a whole day, it malfunctioned, causing panic.”
Similarly, a netizen from Jiangsu disclosed, “Within a year of moving in, the elevator frequently fails to open when reaching a floor, taking a long time to respond.”
One from Guangxi added, “In our complex, touted as a five-star living environment, within less than two years of completion, elevator malfunctions are common and sometimes terrifying.”
A netizen from Zhejiang concluded, “That’s not bad, some elevators are broken every single day.”