Overview

• On August 8, two of four elevator maintenance workers were trapped under a roughly 900-kg hoisting machine and remain unconscious in critical condition at a Fukuoka hospital.
• The accident occurred when the device slipped while being carried up the emergency staircase to a ninth-floor machine room in a nine-story building near Tenjin South Station.
• Fukuoka Prefectural Police have launched an investigation into possible professional negligence resulting in death.
• Witnesses reported a loud crash and shaking that initially sounded like an earthquake before rescuers arrived and freed the victims.
• The fall raises fresh concerns over industrial safety standards and the need for stricter oversight and training in transporting heavy machinery in urban areas.