Student injured after falling into elevator shaft on fourth floor

Police said the teenager Deep Vaya, a B-tech student, is a resident of the boys’ hostel of a private engineering college in the city. Around 11 pm on Saturday, he and his friends were celebrating the birthday of one of their classmates inside the hostel premises when the mishap happened.

When the boys were running along the corridor on the fourth floor of the hostel to smear cake on their friend’s face, Deep came near the elevator. However, what he did not know was, the construction of the lift was still under way, and the grille gate was meant to cordon off the shaft for safety purposes.

Police said Deep was not aware of the ongoing work as he is a resident of another block. Even as his friends were watching, Deep leanedon the gate which gave away. The gate fell into the empty shaft, so did the teenager.

According to police, he fell from a height of about 50 feet, and suffered injured on his spinal cord, and fractured his hands and legs. His friends rushed him to a hospital in Sriperumbudur and was then taken to MIOT Hospital where he is undergoing treatment.

After initial inquiry, police officers added they suspected that the grill gate was not sealed well enough.

“We suspect that the gate was not welded properly,” said a police officer attached to the Royala Nagar police station.