It was revealed that in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, a 9-year-old girl trapped in an elevator repeatedly pressed the emergency call button to ask for help, but the staff member at the disaster prevention center scolded her with 'Stop playing!' and failed to respond. Chinese media outlet DaXiang News reported on the 1st.

【その他の写真】

According to the report, two 9-year-old girls were trapped in an elevator in a building in Linping District of the same city. The girls pressed the emergency call button a total of 35 times to seek help, but the on-duty staff member at the building's disaster prevention center, who received the call, assumed it was a prank and, without checking the situation, scolded them through the intercom with 'Stop playing!'

The girls were trapped in the elevator for about 2 hours. Afterward, their parents became suspicious when their children were late returning home, and after searching everywhere, discovered they were trapped inside the elevator, leading to their eventual rescue. The children's mother tearfully said, 'The two girls did everything they could (but received no response).'

The management company later explained the situation at the time: 'While the children were trapped, the on-duty staff member responded a total of 3 times, but the communication was poor, and after the call, the receiver (in the center) was not properly replaced, which prevented subsequent rescue requests from reaching the center, leading to a delay in rescue.' They immediately dismissed the on-duty staff member and offered to cover the costs of the children's hospital examinations.

The DaXiang News article pointed out, 'This is a standard response of 'explanation + dismissal of the person in charge + cost burden,' but it's as if punishing one low-level staff member at the scene absolves the management company itself of responsibility.' It argued, 'Of course, the on-duty staff member deserves to be disciplined, but not all responsibility should be placed on this employee. The fact that the receiver was left off the hook for a long time in the disaster prevention center and no one noticed precisely indicates that the management company's routine inspection duties had become a mere formality.'

Furthermore, it mentioned, 'By regulation, a disaster prevention center must have two qualified personnel stationed 24 hours a day, but in this case, a series of problematic behaviors occurred, such as working alone, improper responses, inadequate equipment management, and abandonment of rescue efforts, and supervision was lacking at every stage.' It condemned, 'Dismissing an on-duty staff member hired with a low salary cannot cover up the dereliction of duty by management.'

It then criticized, 'When problems arise, low-level staff at the scene are dismissed. This kind of response is now seen in various industries, but it is a distorted logic that pushes responsibility downwards and exempts the upper management.' It stated, 'Those who should truly be held accountable are the managers who prioritize fee collection over service and safety management, and have passed the buck around.' (Translation and editing / Kitada)