State-run dormitories in Turkey see second elevator accident in a week as cables snap in Ordu

The cables of an elevator snapped in a state-run KYK dormitory in the northern Ordu, leading to a free fall after the students riding it were evacuated. The incident happened five days after a student died as an elevator fell in a state-run KYK dormitory in the western province of Aydın.

Tuesday October 31 2023 01:06 pm

Duvar English

The elevator cables snapped in a state-run university dormitory of the Student Loans and Dormitories Institution (KYK) in the northern province of Ordu’s Fatsa district, leading to a free fall, Turkish media outlets reported early on Oct. 31.

Accordingly, women students got into the elevator on the 5th floor of the dormitory but it stopped on the 4th floor. The students were then evacuated with the help of their friends. Shortly after, the elevator crashed to the ground after its cables snapped.

The medical teams sent the students to the hospitals in the district as a precaution.

This is the second elevator incident the state-run KYK dormitories have seen in a week, leading to concerns that elevator inspections are not conducted properly.

On Oct. 26, Zeren Ertaş, a university student, died as an elevator fell in a state-run KYK dormitory in the western province of Aydın, who got stuck while trying to get out of the falling elevator. Students staying in that dormitory had protested the negligence of the management, saying they warned them several times regarding the elevator but it was not fixed.

The incident that killed Ertaş caused a public outrage and nation-wide protests, especially among university students, amid poor living conditions in the dormitories.