Building management probes elevator shaft death

MANILA, Philippines — The management of a building where an architect fell to his death after he mistook an elevator shaft door for a restroom door said it was conducting its own investigation into the incident.

“The Cyberpark management takes matters like this very seriously and is conducting its own investigation into this highly unusual incident,” the statement read.

“It is also cooperating fully with the ongoing police investigation,” it added.

The management of Cyberpark Tower 1 — which is in Cubao, Quezon City — also clarified that the incident, which happened late Saturday, did not involve an elevator malfunction.

“Based on initial investigation, two men managed to open an emergency service door of a high-zone elevator shaft and one of them fell into it. The area was already dark and most lessees at the floor had already closed shop given it was past operating hours,” it said.

Michael Alfonso, a 37-year-old architect, died after falling three floors down because he had mistakenly thought that the door of an elevator shaft was a restroom door, according to a report by Radyo Inquirer.

The Cyberpark statement further explained that the paramedics responded immediately at the scene of the incident and rushed Alfonso to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The management extended its condolences to the family of the victim and said it would provide “necessary assistance in their time of grief.” /atm

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