New Taipei to inspect elevators after crashes

New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-yi (侯友宜) today said he should commission a third party to look into two incidents last week in which the city’s elevators malfunctioned and fell shortly after undergoing maintenance.

The first of the incidents occurred on Tuesday last week when an elevator cable at a funeral home in New Taipei City’s Banxiao District (板橋) snapped, causing the elevator to fall from the building’s second floor to the ground, slightly injuring three workers. inside.

Photo: Chen Yi-shao, Taipei Times

Yesterday afternoon, a pedestrian elevator near New Taipei City Hall Square, where a children’s Halloween event was being held, also malfunctioned and fell from the second floor to the ground.

A 55-year-old woman in an elevator broke her leg in a fall, and her eight-year-old nephew was treated for lacerations.

According to the city government, both faulty elevators recently underwent scheduled maintenance and inspection on Oct. 7 and Oct. 17, respectively.

Speaking at the New Taipei City Council today, Hou said that following the incidents, he has ordered safety checks on all the city’s public elevators over the next two months.

In addition, the city government will also hire an organization to conduct a third-party audit to determine why the elevators failed so soon after maintenance was performed, Howe said.

The city will cover the medical expenses of accident victims and help them seek financial compensation once legal liability for the accidents is established, he added.