Seven injured as lift falls from fifth floor of Vasai residential building

A lift in a residential building in Vasai in Maharashtra's Palghar district fell from the fifth floor on Saturday afternoon, injuring seven people, a municipal official said.

The injured include four men and three women. All were rushed to a nearby private hospital for treatment.

Officials said the incident took place at around 2 pm at Dhananjay Avenue, a building in the Patankar Park area of Vasai.

According to residents, the housing society had installed safety springs at the bottom of the lift shaft, which averted a major accident. The lift had a capacity of five persons.

Residents said they took possession of the building only two years ago, but the lift had been suffering frequent technical faults. They claimed they had complained to the builder many times about the faults, but no action was taken.

After the incident, local officials and an official of the fire brigade of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVMC) visited the spot and inspected the lift.

Separately, in Latur district, a parcel is said to have exploded in a courier company's pickup van on Saturday morning, leaving one person seriously injured, a police official said.

The incident took place at around 9.30 am, while parcels were being unloaded from the vehicle. There was a loud blast and smoke began to billow from the van's cargo compartment, causing panic in the area.

A company employee who was unloading the parcels suffered serious burns in the explosion. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital for treatment, the official said.

A team from Shivajinagar police station in Latur reached the spot and began an investigation. Police are examining all possibilities to establish what caused the blast.

According to the police official, the parcel could have contained items such as firecrackers, flammable chemicals or battery-related goods. However, the exact cause of the explosion is yet to be established.