A 43-year-old woman was found dead in an elevator in China.
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| A 43-year-old woman was found dead in an elevator in China. She had been trapped in the elevator for about a month when workers cut the power. Critics said "... the crowded cities are nothing but just a forest of steel – we are surrounded by so many people ... but there are few that really have anything to do with you." |
She had been trapped in the elevator for about a month.
CNN says a maintenance crew inspected a broken elevator in the Chinese city of Xi'an on January 30. The elevator had stopped between the 10th and 11th floors. Workers shouted to see if anyone was inside, and did not hear an answer.
They turned off the power and left the building.
Workers found the woman's body on March 1, after they returned from the Lunar New Year holiday. The woman, who lived in the building, could have been in the elevator for up to 30 days.
The woman's neighbors said that the woman lived alone.
Local police arrested two suspects in their investigation. They said they were investigating the companies responsible for the elevator maintenance.
Internet response
Chinese web users posted angry responses on social media. They criticized relationships in modern Chinese society.
One user of Weibo, a social media site similar to Twitter, said:
"I thought such things would only take place in the wild. But actually the crowded cities are nothing but just a forest of steel – we are surrounded by so many people and have so many 'good friends' in (online) chat groups but there are few that really have anything to do with you."
Media response
Chinese media criticized negligence in China's elevator maintenance industry. Media also criticized property management companies.
China has had problems with similar accidents in the past. Last July, a woman died after she fell through flooring in a Chinese department store.
Words in This Story
elevator – n. a machine used for carrying people and things to different levels in a building
maintenance - n. the act of keeping or providing for
post – v. to add (a message) to an online message board
response - n. an answer; something that is said or done in answer to something else
negligence – n. failure to take the care that a responsible person usually takes
