Five people were injured after an elevator carrying 20 people to the old private ward at All India Institute of Medical Sciences collapsed on Saturday morning. (HT PHOTO)

On Saturday morning, 29-year-old Shweta Sinha had gone to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for a consultation with her brother-in-law.

Both of them were inside elevator No 17 when it suddenly ‘collapsed’ around 9:40 in the morning.

“The lift was on the second floor and before the door could open it just fell down and people lost their balance because of the sudden jerk. The person standing in front of Shweta fell on her leg,” said Ritesh, Shweta’s brother-in-law.

Shweta later underwent an ultrasound and a CT scan to check for internal injuries and spine injuries and was taken to AIIMS trauma centre across the road for treatment of a compound fracture on her left leg.

There are nearly 50 elevators in the hospital and there has never been an incident like this in the past, officials claimed.

“There has never been an incident like this at AIIMS in the past. A committee has been set up to look into what caused the problem with the lift on Saturday,” said DK Sharma, medical superintendent of the hospital. Sharma will head the probe committee.

Five of the 20 occupants of the elevator, including Shweta, suffered injuries in Saturday’s incident. “Four of them suffered minor injuries such as cuts and bruises and muscle sprains and were discharged in the afternoon after first aid,” said a hospital employee.

According to one of the occupants, the elevator ‘collapsed’ and fell into the pit, which has buffer springs, and the doors opened up. “The door refused to open on the second floor and then there was a a sudden drop. The lift fell and then landed with a thud. The door opened slightly and those inside, including me, forced the door open and helped people get out. The lift was nearly knee-length below the flooring when it finally came to a stop,” the person said, on condition of anonymity.

The elevator collapsed because of a failure of the stopping mechanism, according to the hospital. “The lift failed to stop from the second floor to ground floor and went straight to the lift pit, which has buffer springs,” a release by the hospital said.

Failure of the stopping mechanism is a kind of technical glitch in which the operating mechanism of the elevator fails to prevent it from stopping at a desired floor, a technician from the hospital explained.

The elevator was well maintained and had been serviced by the company on February 27 this year, the hospital said.