Teen Dies On First Day Of Work After Elevator Plunges 3 Storeys Down

A Malaysian teenager reportedly died on his first day of work after falling down an elevator shaft as the elevator plunged three floors down at a supermarket in Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia, on April. 11

The man, identified as 18-year-old Andrew Munding Kuling, who started his first day of work as a supermarket staff, was moving boxes at a supermarket in Bintulu when the accident happened, Mothership reported.

A CCTV surveillance camera at the store captured the incident. At the start of the video, a lift in the open shaft moved downward, causing several carton boxes at the lift landing to topple over onto the elevator roof. Confused by the situation, Andrew and one of his colleagues took a few seconds to decide what to do next. Andrew then stepped on the elevator roof to retrieve the boxes.

About 30 seconds went by, and the teen continued moving the boxes from the elevator and onto the landing area. However, when he appeared to carry the last box of goods to his colleague standing outside the lift, the elevator suddenly plunged, taking the teen along it.

His colleague looked on helplessly and confused after the elevator plummeted. When the firefighters arrived to help the victim, they had to extricate his body from the side of the lift. Andrew reportedly got crushed due to the fall, as per AsiaOne.

Andrew was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene.

The teen, who had just finished the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exams, equivalent to the O-levels in Singapore, is survived by his parents and two elder siblings, a 23-year-old sister and a 20-year-old brother.

Andrew's mother described her late son as an obedient boy. She added that even though she had not asked him to look for a job, Andrew took the supermarket job to help with the family expenses.

The grieving mother recalled that she had made breakfast for her son at 6.30 am and had driven him to work on his first day before the tragedy occurred.

Andrew's family could not retrieve his body because he had tested positive for Covid-19.