This newspaper reported that on September 30, 2025, 34-year-old Perin Yasot Kifga died after falling from the seventh floor of a residential building in Tasos, Mersin Province, Turkey, due to an elevator failure. This tragedy was no accident, but rather a concentrated outbreak of maintenance loopholes and a lack of responsibility in the elevator industry, sounding a long-standing alarm for the global elevator industry.
The accident was caused by a loosening of the elevator's counterweight balancing system. This core component, which requires strict regular maintenance with a 40%-50% balance coefficient, completely failed due to a lack of maintenance. Even more alarming is that residents had reported the elevator malfunction multiple times over a month prior, but the property management company ignored the issue. This "use-first, maintenance-first" mentality is a common problem in the industry.
For the elevator industry, this accident offers three key lessons:
First, a "full lifecycle maintenance" system must be established, shifting routine inspections from "reactive response" to "proactive prevention." This includes shortening maintenance cycles for older elevators.
Second, maintenance technology should be upgraded, with the introduction of IoT monitoring systems to track key data such as counterweight balance and cable tension in real time, providing early warning of risks.
Third, accountability mechanisms must be strengthened, clarifying the boundaries of authority and responsibility between property management companies, maintenance companies, and regulatory authorities to avoid the dilemma of "multiple management and no one responsible."
Elevator safety concerns everyone's life. Property management companies and maintenance companies must abandon the mentality of taking chances and ensure that maintenance responsibilities are fully implemented. Residents should promptly preserve evidence and file complaints with regulatory authorities when they discover hidden dangers. Regulatory agencies must also increase spot checks and severely punish those who fail to fulfill their responsibilities. Only through collaborative efforts by all parties to strengthen maintenance can elevators truly become safe "lifeways" rather than deadly traps.
