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Damaged retail cargo elevator falls killing employee from E. Jakarta
A cargo elevator fell from the second floor of the Sun Star shop building near Tanah Abang market, Central Jakarta, on Monday, killing one employee
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A cargo elevator fell from the second floor of the Sun Star shop building near Tanah Abang market, Central Jakarta, on Monday, killing one employee.
The employee, identified as Sarwo Utomo, 42, an East Jakarta city resident, was already dead when he was taken by taxi to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta.
Sarwo had worked at the shop for three years.
"He was the backbone of his family. His wife, is in their house along with their one-year old daughter now because she is too shocked to come here," Sutjipto, Sarwo's uncle told reporters at the hospital.
He said the family had retracted a report to the police because they considered the death to be an accident.
"We refused any autopsy because we want to bring his body to the house and bury him this afternoon," said Sutjipto.
He said he hoped the company boss would help finance the funeral.
Badra, who owns the three-story Sun Star building, said he did not understand why Sarwo took the elevator as it had never been used since he opened the shop in 1997.
"The elevator was in the shop when we came to occupy it more than 10 years ago. None of us ever used it because it was damaged," he said as quoted by kompas.com.
He said the shop would take responsibility for the accident.
Head of criminal investigation at the Tanah Abang police station First Insp. Sutrisno said the elevator fell because it dropped off its central track.
Saenang, a parking attendant near the scene, said that after the accident, Sarwo was laid on the cemented terrace, in front of the shop for about 30 minutes.
"We were waiting for an ambulance but it took too much time so people decided to take him to the hospital by taxi," he said, adding that the taxi moved slowly since the road where the building was located was congested with vehicles and street vendors.
Other owners whose shops were located next to Badra's said although they knew Sarwo, they did not know much about the company because Badra never talked to them.
"Sarwo used to drop by to chat with our employees. I saw him spreading small rocks on the holes in the road in front of our shops several hours before he fell down from the lift," an owner of a shop next to Sun Star, who requested anonymity, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Several similar accidents involving improper elevator maintenance have occurred in Jakarta.
In May last year, a cargo elevator at PT Olympic Garment in North Jakarta fell, while carrying 24 female employees, leaving 15 severely injured.
In November, four employees were injured when an elevator fell from the second to the first floor of Ratu Plaza in Central Jakarta. (ind)
