MEDAN - The body of a woman who fell into a lift shaft in Kualanamu Airport, Medan was found on April 27, three days after the incident.
The lift’s CCTV footage of what were likely to be Ms Aisiah Sinta Dewi Hasibuan’s final moments has since been circulating on social media, although it is unclear how the clip found its way online.
In the video, she can be seen walking into the double-sided lift through the doors on the right at about 8.24pm local time on April 24, according to the timestamp on the footage.
Ms Aisiah then faces the doors she entered from, unaware that the doors behind her had opened seconds earlier. She appears to press the buttons in the lift before making a call on her mobile phone.
She stands close to and touches the doors she entered from, and they open slightly. Ms Aisiah then takes a step forward, and plunges into the depths of the lift shaft.
Local reports gave conflicting information about Aisiah’s age, but it is clear she was a resident of Jalan Garuda, Medan.
Family to lodge police report
Indonesian news website Tribunnews reported that her body was found at about 4pm on April 27 after a strong smell was detected near the lift.
The portal reported that Ms Aisiah’s body was trapped at the bottom of the lift shaft, and was recovered only after a five-hour operation by the Kualanamu Airport security team. Her body was then taken to Medan Bhayangkara Hospital.
The Deli Serdang police chief said Ms Aisiah’s cause of death could not be determined, and that they would have to wait for the results of the forensic examination conducted by the hospital, Tribunnews reported.
News outlet Medan Kompas reported that the airport’s head of corporate communications Dedi Al Subur said the lift was not working properly when the incident occurred.
Mr Dedi added that the CCTV footage had shown that Ms Aisiah had forced both sides of the lift door to open, and that her family did not say precisely that the last contact they had with her was while she was in the lift.
Aisiah’s brother Raja Hasibuan attributed the incident to “poor elevator security”, reported Medan Kompas.
Mr Raja said his family will report the management of the airport to the police, and added that as of April 30, they had not received news on Ms Aisiah’s cause of death.
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He told Medan Kompas his family suspects the lift that she used had a safety problem, and did not think that the incident was a result of human error.
Mr Raja said that at the time of the incident, Ms Aisiah was accompanying her niece to the airport. While in the lift, she had called her niece and said she was trapped inside before she fell.
After they lost contact with her, Ms Aisiah’s family members then asked airport security for help to look for her. They had also asked to view CCTV footage of the lift, but added that airport security showed them CCTV footage of other areas instead of the inside of the lift.
“We asked (for the footage) from the elevator because the problem was clear,” said Mr Raja. “It was there we lost contact with her.”
Mr Raja also said the CCTV footage of the side of the lift was only released after Ms Aisiah’s body was discovered, instead of when they requested for it.
He also said Ms Aisiah could not have forced the lift doors open, as she was holding her mobile phone in her dominant hand when the incident occurred.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
