Postwoman dies in Uzbekistan after being trapped in lift for 3 days
A postwoman was found dead in a lift in Uzbekistan after having been trapped inside for three days.
Ms Olga Leontyeva was said to have screamed for help but no one heard her, media reports said. The alarm did not go off either.
The incident occurred on July 24, when she was delivering mail to a nine-storey building in the Uzbek capital, Tashkent.
The building’s closed-circuit television camera captured footage of Ms Leontyeva, 32, stepping into the lift on the first floor. She was not seen again.
Her family reported her disappearance to the authorities and an intense search followed. She was found dead on July 27.
Ms Leontyeva leaves behind a six-year-old daughter, who is now being cared for by relatives. The authorities said an investigation is under way.
The lift was said to have stopped working due to a power cut.
However, Regional Electricity Power Networks, an electricity sales and distribution company, said there were no power cuts on the day of the incident. A spokesman for the company pointed to the lift’s malfunction.
Other reports said the lift had suffered regular technical problems and was not properly registered according to government regulations.
The Tashkent General Prosecutor’s Office said breakdowns were “common”.
Investigators are looking into the incident and a criminal case has been launched, the office added.
A similar incident occurred in the Italian city of Palermo on July 26.
A 61-year-old woman died after getting trapped in a lift that was stuck between two floors during a power cut.
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