A lift carrying six people plunges at a care home in Malaga Credit: Shutterstock/Vershinin89
Two elderly residents have died and four others remain in hospital after a lift carrying six people fell at a care home in southern Spain, with police investigating the circumstances surrounding the fatal accident.
The incident happened at around 8.30pm on Wednesday, October 14, at the Séniors care home on Calle Alcalde Santiago Valle in Vélez-Málaga, Málaga province.
An 82-year-old woman died at the Hospital Comarcal de la Axarquía after being taken there following the accident. A 91-year-old man also died in the hospital during the early hours of Thursday, according to reports from Spanish media citing municipal sources.
The remaining four residents were injured and remain in hospital, with the incident prompting questions about what caused the lift to fall.
Six residents rescued from fallen lift
Emergency services were alerted to the accident on Wednesday evening after the healthcare emergency coordination service notified Andalucía’s emergency response service, 112, that a lift had fallen at the residential care facility.
Firefighters from Málaga’s provincial fire service, along with National Police, local police and medical teams, were sent to the scene.
Responders found six people trapped inside the lift and worked to rescue them before all six were transported to the Hospital Comarcal de la Axarquía for treatment.
The four surviving injured residents are two women, aged 69 and 78, and two men, aged 68 and 86.
According to regional health authorities, the injured residents suffered fractures and other injuries, including to their arms and legs. They were being treated in the hospital’s intensive care unit, with their conditions awaiting further assessment.
Police investigate cause of lift accident
Spain’s National Police have opened an investigation to establish why the lift fell and what happened inside the care home.
Police scientific officers attended the facility to examine the circumstances of the accident. Investigators are looking into whether a fault or another problem involving the lift contributed to the incident.
No official cause has been confirmed.
The care home’s management has said it is examining the lift system alongside the company responsible for the equipment and the centre’s own maintenance staff.
According to the management, the facility’s records showed that the lift’s maintenance was in order. However, this has not been independently confirmed by investigators, and the cause of the fall remains under investigation.
Care home has around 200 places
The Séniors residence is a care facility for older people in Vélez-Málaga and has around 200 places under an agreement with the regional government of Andalusia.
Following the accident, management said it was working to assess the situation and support residents and their families.
The centre has also expressed its condolences to the relatives of the two residents who died and said it was monitoring the condition of those who remain in hospital.
The investigation continues as authorities seek to establish what caused the lift to fall and whether any technical or maintenance issues were involved.
The incident has left two families grieving and four other residents receiving hospital treatment, while the precise circumstances of the accident remain unclear.