An elevator technician in his 40s was killed on Wednesday evening in Jerusalem when the elevator he was trying to fix fell on him and crushed him to death. The accident occurred on Khelet Meshal Street in Beit Hanina.

Firefighters extricated the man from underneath the elevator and at first emergency medical service personnel from Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah attempted to treat him.

According to a statement by Magen David Adom, the man was taken by ambulance to Hadassah Har Hazofim Hospital in critical condition and his death was pronounced at the hospital.

However, a statement by United Hatzalah quoted volunteer EMT Yaakov Melul, who was one of the first responders at the scene, contradicted Magen David Adom’s statement.
“The elevator in a residential building collapsed on the technician and crushed him to death. Sadly, his death was pronounced at the scene due to the severity of injuries that he received,” Melul said.

United Hatzalah further claimed that the technician’s body was quickly transported from the scene so that it wouldn’t cause a riot.

Police said that an initial investigation into the incident concluded that a blackout had struck the building, causing the fatal accident to occur.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)