Kerala man trapped for 42 hours in hospital lift
To keep his spirits up, he recited poems written by his wife, which he knew by heart.
Raveendran Nair, 59, a Kerala Man Trapped in a petrifying experience when he got stuck in an elevator at the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, for 42 hours. Nair, a local CPI leader and employee at the legislators’ hostel in Ullur, had paid a visit to the hospital with his wife Sreelekha, who works there, to treat his back pain.
After getting an X-ray, Nair took the elevator to see the doctor, but it broke down and got stuck. Describing the incident, Raveendran told The Indian Express, “I pressed the alarm button, but there was no response. There was no intercom to connect with the lift operator. Using my phone, I tried several (helpline) numbers written inside the elevator. There was no response. Then the phone fell and stopped working.”
The Ordeal
Faced with the possibility of being stuck until Monday, Nair tried to remain composed. He mentions, “I urinated in a corner. Sometimes, I would cry out loud. I couldn’t sleep. When I felt thirsty or hungry, I just licked my lips. I kept pressing the alarm bell regularly. Although the lift chamber had no fan or light, some air continued to waft in, ensuring a continuous supply of oxygen.”
Nair soon lost track of time. To keep his spirits up, he recited poems written by his wife, which he knew by heart. When he didn’t come home on Saturday, his family initially thought it was due to his erratic work schedule. But they became concerned when he didn’t return on Sunday and they couldn’t reach him on the phone. After contacting the legislators’ hostel and the CPI office, they learned that he had been missing since Saturday afternoon. By Sunday afternoon, they filed a missing person report at the local police station and began searching for him.
Conditions in the Elevator
“They were in shock. They had searched the premises of the medical college, but never knew I was trapped in the elevator,” Nair states.
Nair was finally rescued by a lift operator on Monday morning. An official said, “According to norms, lift operators should bring down such elevators, open the doors and examine the chamber. But this didn’t happen on Saturday.” After being rescued at 6 a.m. on Monday, Nair was admitted to the hospital.
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