A six-year-old girl has died after she was crushed to death in a hospital lift while being discharged.
The incident in the hospital in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, came as a staff member wheeled the young victim into the elevator on a stretcher before it suddenly started moving, according to reports.
Local sources said the girl, named Aitana, spent as long as 30 minutes being crushed by the lift before eventually being rescued with the help of hydraulic equipment.
Rescuers were forced to break part of the wall to free her. Aitana was pronounced dead on July 11 after suffering serious injuries to her lungs and heart.
A hospital employee claimed that the sensor on the lift had failed, and did not detect that Aitana’s legs were still half outside.
The girl was being discharged from hospital at the time after suffering from dengue fever.
The hospital said in a statement: ‘The elevator maintenance service is contracted out to an external company.
‘Necessary and adequate medical care was provided during the incident, but unfortunately the patient died.
‘The hospital’s management immediately notified the relevant authorities and are cooperating with the investigation, providing the necessary information for the corresponding action, in order to guarantee transparency for this unfortunate incident.’
A man was detained by police following the incident.The State Attorney General’s Office stated: ‘Following the incident, a male person was detained.
‘The cause of the incident that led to this unfortunate death is still being established.’
A local fire chief revealed he had seen a situation like it in over 16 years working for the emergency services.
Alejandro Contreras Díaz, chief of the Playa del Carmen Fire Department, said: ‘When we arrived on the scene, the girl was alive but was being exposed to so much pressure.
‘Her chest and face were pressed against the beam of the structure. Her lungs and heart were crushed, she had a facial injury.
‘We feared that the structure or the elevator could fall as this type of device has a security system and forcing this type of lock could cause it to fall.’
Aitana was buried on Wednesday afternoon.
The hospital said they have filed a criminal complaint against the company in charge of lift maintenance.
An investigation into her death is ongoing.
