A service elevator in a Makati City building plummeted from the 10th floor to the ground floor, leaving 17 people injured on Thursday night.
Thirty-two passengers were packed in the service elevator that descended from the 52nd floor of Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) Tower on Ayala Avenue, Barangay Bel-Air, in Makati City. At a height of 259 meters, PBCom Tower is the third tallest building in the Philippines.
Overloaded
At 10:10 p.m., shortly after passengers boarded the elevator, the car overload signal was turned on. However, the elevator proceeded to go down, the police report from Makati Central Police Station said.
By the time the elevator reached the 30th floor, the car started to go down rapidly, but eventually slowed down. It was at the 10th floor when the car made a free fall to the ground floor.
The seventeen people who sustained minor injuries, like lower back and knee pains and dizziness, were brought to Makati Medical Center and Ospital ng Makati.
Among them were Filipino and Chinese employees of Huawei Technologies Philippines Inc., and employees of a business process outsourcing company.
‘Uncooperative guards’
Building management system operator at PBCom Tower JC Roldan said the emergency break of the service elevator was not working, a press release from the Makati City Hall said.
Maj. Gideon Ines, assistant chief of police for operations of Makati City Police, said that security personnel of PBCom Tower were “uncooperative” and barred the police from entering the skyscraper to conduct an ocular investigation.
Makati City Mayor Abby Binay on Friday called for the inspection of all elevators in Makati buildings to avoid another malfunction.
She directed the Office of the Building Official to inspect if the elevators comply with safety requirements.
“I would like to reiterate to building owners and administrators that it is their responsibility to ensure that all elevators in their building are well-maintained,” Binay said.