Pauline Etienne
6 September 2007
Port Louis — After the accident involving a government auditor at Sterling House last Monday, people appeared really afraid of using the lift. But engineers say it is safe with proper maintenance.
The lift where the incident occurred was blocked up.
"The lift is the safest means of transport." This sentence could be quite surprising after the incident involving a government auditor at Sterling House in Port-Louis last Monday. However, the head of the lift department of Robert Le Maire, Anil Bhunjun, is adamant. He nevertheless moderates his own words by adding, "provided that there is proper maintenance".
Nandkumar Kallychurn, 54 years old, was the victim of a "lift accident" while he was coming down from the third floor to have lunch with some colleagues. After his tibia was stuck in the lift door, he was brought to hospital where he had to undergo a surgical intervention.
For Anil Bhunjun however, such accidents are "very rare in Mauritius. It has already happened in goods lifts - which even led to death in a few cases - but lifts usually remain safe". For a lift located in offices, it should be checked once a month. "There are different parts in a lift such as mechanical parts alignment, traction machine and doors, but all of them do not require a monthly check-up but there should still be a general one every month," asserted the head of department. He further made it clear, "Even if all traction cables were cut off, the lift would not fall, as there is a parachute system that holds it back".
Anil Bhunjun goes even further, "even if maintenance is lacking, there are not many dangers using lifts. In most cases, the worst thing that could happen is regular breakdowns". Of course, "it can be quite frightening to remain stuck in a lift for a long time but it is not dangerous," he added.
As for the problem that occurred at the Sterling House, the specialist does not really know what happened. But he said, "there should normally be an infrared system that leaves the door open for the necessary time to make sure everyone has got properly into the lift". Both the police and the ministry of Work and Labour Relations have opened an enquiry to shed some light on this incident.
Large number of people using the lift
But the company which has set up the lifts and is supposed to do the maintenance already pointed at the large number of people who were in the lift. Yusuf Abbasakoor, the manager of E.E.S Ltd, made it clear, "There is usually a great number of people in this building. The lift works a lot and particularly during peak hours. There was no real technical problem. We realised that there was an excess load because we were told that there were more than ten people and when the door closed, the person just jumped into the lift". He also pointed out that the lifts are checked every month and that, every six months, "someone independent also does a check-up".
After two days of protests by employees - who were obviously afraid of using the lift - the situation got back to normal yesterday. "Two lifts were working but the one where the accident took place has been blocked up," confirmed Rashid Imrith, the leader of the Government General Services Union. He however regrets that the lift was not blocked before Tuesday afternoon because it could have distorted the enquiries. "The owners said there were too many people but the investigators will have to see the ones who were there," he said.
For Rashid Imrith, the problem is larger than the incident that occurred at the Sterling House last Monday. "In almost all buildings where the government rents some offices, there is no follow-up done to make sure the owner of the building abides by the conditions," he said. "Government should have its own assessment done in such buildings to make sure its employees work in safe conditions," he added.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2005, which came into force on the 1st of September this year, already makes some provision to consolidate the safety measures in the previous legislation with regard to machinery. Additional machinery such as vehicle lifts and escalators have been included.
As regards lifts there is extensive provision in the Act with regard to safety. "Such equipment has to be examined at least once every six months by a registered machinery inspector. Additionally the new Act provides for a notice relating to the examination of the lift to be affixed inside or near the lift for information of all," the act states.
Yesterday, the situation got back to normal with two lifts working.
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