The elevator where Ravindran Nair was trapped.
“I kept hoping that at some point people would realize that the lift was broken, come fix it and save me,” said Ravindran Nair, 59. Hospital authorities claimed the lift was faulty, but family members claimed Negligence, says no committee reminded patients to avoid using it
When 59-year-old Ravindran Nair went to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital with back pain on Saturday, it turned out to be his worst nightmare – being trapped in 42 hours in the elevator, without light, food or water, not sure if anyone even knew he was in there.
“It's like seeing death right in front of you. You just start remembering your family, your parents. I burst into tears thinking about them,” Official Quarters of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, Thiruvananthapuram Nair, an employee at the attached office told News18.
However, Nair said that even as he cried and thought about his family, he maintained hope and told himself he “will get through this.”
'The elevator's broken, the phone's broken': Hospital says it's out of order
The local politician, known to friends as Thirumala Ravi, who has been with the Communist Party of India for more than 45 years, decided to take the lift around noon on Saturday because he was not confident about taking the stairs to see a doctor. Like other visitors, Nair took the elevator to the orthopedics department.
“Suddenly, the elevator crashed to the ground. My phone was broken from the impact. I just braced myself to save myself. Soon the minutes turned into hours. I didn't know if it was day or night, but I kept ringing the emergency bell every few minutes. It was dark inside and somehow I found a small gap through which I could breathe air to stay alive,” he recalled.
“During those 42 hours, I kept hoping that at some point people would realize that the elevator was broken, come and fix it, see me go in and rescue me,” said Nair, who was being treated at the same government hospital where he was trapped The place.
After the incident, hospital authorities claimed that the device had malfunctioned, but Nair's family countered that there was no sign indicating that the device was not functional.
Son says it's the hospital's responsibility to track elevators and emergency bells
His son Hari Shankar was livid as he spoke of the nightmare his father had to endure.
Nair used to stay up late for official work. Not hearing from Nair until late Saturday night, his family filed a missing persons complaint with the police. “This was a huge mistake on the part of the hospital management. My father survived because of his good karma. It was purely luck and the grace of God. If the bell in the elevator was not used to signal an emergency, So what's the point of it? No one cares if the elevator works. This is a hospital with so much traffic. Should the government check if the elevator is working when patients use it?
Shankar said that around 6 a.m. on Monday, a hospital employee checking the elevator decided to check the elevator where Nair was trapped. Without water, food, and isolated in the dark, he even defecated in the elevator. It hurts to think about what my father has been through.
Shankar said there are no CCTV cameras in the lift area and there are no lift operators on duty during weekends.
Nair said once he recovers, he is ready to return to work and live a normal life. He said the incident may have left him traumatized, but it made him more determined to face life.
