Balasore: A 55-year-old woman, who had gone to Bhadrak district headquarters hospital with breathing difficulty, suffered a gruesome death when the stretcher carrying her got stuck in the lift, crushing her on Thursday morning.
Bhadrak district collector Dilip Routray has ordered an inquiry and announced compensation of Rs 8 lakh to the victim’s family. The administration has also ordered immediate inspection and replacement of the faulty lift.
Minati Parida, a resident of Narasinghpur village was feeling uncomfortable in the morning. Her daughter-in-law and grandson called an ambulance and took her to the hospital. Since she was feeling unwell, Minati was put on a stretcher. In the absence of a ward boy or attendant, family members had to take her to the female medicine ward located on the first floor of the hospital. As soon as they entered the lift, and even before they could pull its grill gate shut, the lift suddenly jerked upwards, trapping Minati and crushing her. Minati’s daughter-in-law and grandson, who were accompanying her, narrowly escaped injury.
The body remained stuck for nearly five hours before it was retrieved with the help of fire services. The delay sparked protests from family members and locals at the hospital premises. Police had to be deployed to bring the situation under control.
“The accident occurred due to a sensor malfunction in the lift,” chief district medical officer Dr Sudhanshu Shekhar Bal said.
Local political leaders, including Bhandaripokhari MLA Sanjiv Mallick and BJD leader Prafulla Samal, criticised the hospital’s infrastructure maintenance and staff absence.