Woman’s body found in elevator a month after power cut off

A 43-year-old woman was found dead in an elevator in China after possibly being trapped for a month.

A maintenance crew was called to inspect a malfunctioning elevator in a residential building in the Gaoling district of Xi'an on January 30, according to a local government statement.

The elevator had stopped between the 10th and 11th floors, so workers yelled from the 11th floor to see if anyone was inside instead of opening the doors to check. They did not hear an answer, and then cut off the power supply leaving the elevator stuck midway.

When they returned on March 1 to fix it — after the Lunar New Year holiday — they discovered the body.The woman, who lived in the building, may have died more than 30 days ago.

According to neighbors, the woman had a history of mental illness and lived alone.

Local authorities said they had arrested two of the elevator maintenance crew and were investigating the companies responsible for the building's management and elevator maintenance.

An autopsy ruled out the possibility of homicide.