Police in Bali are investigating a fatal accident at a high-end resort after an outdoor elevator failed and plummeted into a ravine, killing five people.
The accident occurred at the Ayuterra Resort in Ubud, a town in the uplands of Bali known for its valleys and terraced rice fields.
Video of the incident circulated online showing five people entering the glass elevator, which runs on an inclined track like a funicular. The elevator starts to slowly ascend and moves out of frame until, seconds later, it reappears, racing down the track at a high speed.
The elevators shoots out at the end of the track and falls into the ravine below.
All five people who died were young hotel workers. Their deaths have sparked uproar among local activists who are calling on the tourism industry to prioritize the health and safety of their employees, the Bali Sun reports.
The victims have been identified as Sang Putu Bayu Adi Krisna, 19, Wayan Aries Setiawan, 23, Ni Luh Superningsih, 20, Kadek Hardiyanti, 24, and Kadek Yanti Pradewi, 19.
Two of the workers died at the scene and the other three died after being rushed to a hospital.
The elevator that catastrophically failed was designed to bring staff and guests from the upper levels of the hotel to the resort facilities on a lower level. The glass elevator is known for being an “Instagrammable experience at the hotel,” the Bali Sun reports.
Ubud police Chief Made Uder told local media that the accident occurred when the cable pulling the elevator snapped. Police are still investigating the circumstances of the tragedy, particularly why there were no secondary safety mechanisms that could have prevented the elevator from crashing through the end of the track and into the ravine.
“The steel swing rope was not strong enough to pull the weight upwards, which was quite heavy, and the safety wedge or brake did not function, so the elevator slid downwards at high speed so this accident could not be avoided,” Uder told reporters on Monday. “As a result, the five elevator passengers died.”
All the guests at the Ayuterra Resort have been relocated to other accommodations while the investigation and mourning period for the five victims continues.
A cook who works at the resort, Ketut Suwiarta, told local media that he saw his five co-workers enter the lift, followed by the sounds of screaming and crashing noises, the Guardian reports.
According to local outlet Kumparan, the families of the victims each received about $14,000 in compensation through Indonesia’s social security agency, known as BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, for the workplace accident.
The owner of the hotel, Linggawati Utomo, reportedly offered the families $4,000 to cover the costs of the workers’ funerals and $500 in additional compensation if the families signed an agreement to not sue the hotel.
At least one family signed the agreement not to sue the resort. The uncle of one of the victims told Kumparan that it didn’t matter if they sued the business because “our child can’t come back anyway,” though he said he still believes “in the law of karma.”
On Wednesday, local police Chief Ketut Widiada said investigators are looking into a report that the owner of the hotel reduced the number of elevator cables from three to one, which may have contributed to the accident.
In 2019, the elevator was filmed operating with three cables, but only one was in use at the time of the accident, according to the Bali Tribun.
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