Sixteen people, mostly Chinese nationals, were injured when an elevator at PBCom Tower in Makati City malfunctioned late Thursday night, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) said.
The Operations Center of PRC said the injured persons were rushed to the Makati Medical Center and Ospital ng Makati.
PRC and the Makati Police denied reports on social media that the elevator fell from the 52nd floor to the fifth floor.
Police Col. Rogelio Simon, Makati police chief, said that 28 people were riding the elevator when it malfunctioned around 11:30 p.m.
According to Police Lt. Gideon Ines, most of the passengers of the elevator are Chinese.
Simon said that the elevator was a “service elevator” and should not be used without an operator. He added that the passengers just kept on pressing the elevator buttons, the reason why it malfunctioned.
Upon reaching the 47th floor, he said its speed started to accelerate and stopped quickly on every floor. The passengers had no chance to get out as the elevator door quickly closed.
“It went down quickly on every floor then stopped all of a sudden, causing passengers to hit each others’ head,” he said.
When the passengers reached the ground floor, they were very dizzy and some of them vomited.
“Some of them were vomiting upon reaching the ground floor. They were very dizzy and weak after the incident that is why some of them were rushed to nearby hospitals,”Simon said.
INSPECTION
Following the incident, Makati Mayor Abby Binay on Friday ordered the Office of the Building Official (OBO) to inspect elevators of buildings in the city.
Binay said she wants to ensure their compliance with the safety requirements as provided for in the National Building Code of the Philippines.
According to the local government, JC Roldan, a Building Management System (BMS) operator at PBCom, said that the emergency brake of the elevator was not working.
Binay stressed that is the responsibility of the building owners and administrators to ensure the safety of every person inside the building.
“I would like to reiterate to building owners and administrators that it is their responsibility to ensure that all elevators in their building are well-maintained,” the mayor said. (Jel Santos)
