A six-year-old girl has been crushed to death by a hospital elevator.
Aitana Betzabe Domingues Castillo was hospitalised after contracting the dengue virus.
The youngster was due to be discharged on the day of her tragic death.
A hospital worker had entered the lift and was in the process of wheeling the victim in on a stretcher when the elevator suddenly started moving, according to reports.
The employee claimed that the lift’s sensor failed and did not detect that Aitana’s legs were still half outside.
She was then crushed between the elevator and the wall.
The tragedy happened at the Hospital General of Zone No.18 IMSS in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on the morning of 11 July.
The girl’s parents, Patricio Domínguez and Deimy Castillo, were present as workers struggled to rescue their child for some minutes.
Some local reports said the girl spent as long as 30 minutes being crushed by the lift before eventually being rescued with the help of hydraulic equipment.
Rescuers had to break part of the wall to eventually free the young victim.
A hospital spokesperson said that the maintenance of lifts is carried out by an external company but did not specify which one.
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.”
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.”
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.”
The fire chief said he has never seen a situation like it in over 16 years working for the emergency services.
He added: “We have had people trapped in elevators before, but they were released by pressing a button.”
The victim was buried on the afternoon of 12 July.
The hospital said they have filed a criminal complaint against the company in charge of lift maintenance.
The investigation into Aitana’s tragic death is ongoing.
