Man narrowly escapes being crushed by elevator


To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video

A man was violently thrown to the ground, leaving him inches from being crushed after an elevator in India malfunctioned.

The incident happened in a building in the Gujarat Housing Board residential complex in the city of Valsad, in the Indian state of Gujarat.

CCTV footage showed resident Vatsalbhai Panchal standing inside the lift and beginning to step out as the doors opened.

But after placing one foot outside the lift, it surged upward without warning, flinging him to the ground.

He narrowly avoided being trapped between the moving lift and the wall by seconds.

According to reports, Panchal suffered internal injuries but survived the incident.

Man narrowly escapes being crushed by elevator
After placing one foot outside of the lift, it rose up quickly (Picture: Clipzilla)
Footage shows a man narrowly escaping serious injury when a lift suddenly shoots upward as he steps out in a residential building in Valsad, Gujarat, India on Mar. 3, 2026
The man was thrown down onto his floor as the elevator surged upwards (Picture: Clipzilla)

Following the incident, the property management said the lift company had been contacted to carry out repairs.

Reports said there had been no major complaints about the lift before the accident.

In 2021, a seven-year-old boy in America was crushed to death in a home elevator accident.

The boy was found stuck between the bottom of the elevator car and the upper door frame of the home in Outer Banks, North Carolina.

The boy’s family, from Canton, Ohio, had arrived at the beach rental home for their vacation earlier that day, Corolla Fire Chief Rich Shortway said.

It appeared that the boy was stuck between the moving elevator’s inner accordion door and an outer door, crushing his neck.

First responders tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate the boy, according to WAVY, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Cuttrick County Sheriff’s Office ruled his death an accident.

‘We are not sure exactly how it happened,’ Currituck County Fire-EMS Chief Ralph Melton told The Coastland Times.

‘The child was entrapped in the doors. We were able to free him, but his head and neck were crushed by the elevator. He died of traumatic injuries sustained in the elevator mishap.’ 

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.