At least eight commuters were stranded in a lift for two hours at Bhayander station in Mumbai after the power supply was switched off for maintenance work on Friday and the rescue device of the lift failed to function.
The commuters endured darkness and sweltering heat during this ordeal.
The incident came to light on Tuesday after a video of the situation went viral on social media.
The Western Railway stated that it had heavily penalised the lift company for improper maintenance under warranty.
One of the victims stranded in the lift shared their experience, saying that no Standard Operating Procedures (SoP) were followed, and for nearly an hour, no one came to their rescue, leaving them trapped in the dark and unbearable heat inside the lift.
Eight passengers, including seniors and women, were trapped in a lift at Bhayander station for two hours on March 14 after a power cut disrupted service and the rescue system malfunctioned.
Despite repeated calls for help, no rescue arrived for nearly an hour, leaving… pic.twitter.com/2J3oaOCv6r
— Mid Day (@mid_day) March 18, 2025
“We had come to Mumbai as tourists, and after taking the train ride, we got into the lift at Bhayander station to go up on the bridge. There were about eight of us, including ladies and senior citizens. As the lift started, it went up for some distance, then suddenly came down. After that, there was a power cut, and we were left in the dark. There were no alarm buttons or anything inside. We tried calling the helpline numbers inside the lift, but no one answered for a long time. Everyone was in panic mode. The heat inside was unbearable, and we were suffocating. The senior citizen was in a bad state; his situation was worsening in the sweltering heat. After some time, someone finally answered the call and said they would send help in 10 minutes, but no one came immediately. Eventually, they tried to open the door as the oxygen levels were dropping. The door was opened slightly, and we had to slide out through the small gap at the top to save ourselves. If the senior citizen had been alone, he would have died after so much effort,” said Makbul, a JCB operator, who was one of the passengers stuck in the lift.
A Western Railway spokesperson explained, “The Bhayander PF-1 lift was stuck when the electric supply was disconnected for maintenance purposes. In the event of a sudden power failure, the lift should automatically switch to rescue mode, and the door should open. However, due to a defect in the rescue device, this function did not work properly. The lift is an Omega Ahmedabad make and is under warranty. It was commissioned on March 31, 2024.”
The spokesperson continued, “It is part of the monthly check schedule for lifts, and the last inspection was conducted on February 24, 2025. According to records, the rescue device was functioning normally at the time of the check. For this malfunction, the firm is being heavily penalised for improper maintenance under warranty.”
“The Railway staff was already at Bhayander, and the lift company staff was also called. It took longer than usual to open the door due to a technical fault in the battery of the auto rescue device,” the spokesperson added.
