Featured Image Credit: Newsflash
Topics: World News
Britt Jones
The horrific moment a husband watched his wife plunge to her death in an elevator has been captured on CCTV footage.
The footage was taken by security camera in an apartment block in Sao Paulo, Brazil on October 9.
The CCTV video shows Adriana Maria de Jesus, 45, on her way to work as she goes up in the lift, in which two other men also enter.
Then after one of the men closes the gated sliding door, Adriana presses a button to bring the elevator back down.
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However, it was only seconds later that the elevator loses control at the fifth floor and plunges to the ground at high speed.
In the clip, terrified Adriana can be seen lifting her hands into the air as the elevator free-falls. She then disappears into the cloud of smoke which appears after the elevator crashes to the ground.
The 45-year-old sustained severe injuries on August 6 and was sadly pronounced dead days later in hospital.
The two other men in the elevator survived after being treated for their injuries.
Her husband, Gildelio Alves do Santos, was the building's concierge and watched his wife's last moments on his security monitor.
According to reports, he said: “I watched the monitor screen and saw my wife going up and everything was normal.
"When it came down I was horrified.”
He added: “My heart is broken. I have to find the strength to work and to get on with life because I have to work.”
According to the husband, the pair had been childhood sweethearts and later married when they reunited after 28 years apart from one another.
He said: “We met again and had the chance to live this childhood love for six years.”
According to local media, the investigation into the incident has barely begun, despite the situation occurring two months ago.
Local reports also claimed that the elevator in question is the very same one which was originally installed when the apartment building was developed 60 years ago.
The Sao Paulo Department of Public Security later confirmed that the case is being investigated as a suspicious death and bodily injury.
A spokesperson for the Department said: “We are seeking evidence and listening to witnesses in order to clarify the facts.”
According to reports, the apartment's contract engineers, Atlas Schindler, confirmed that it is assisting police with their investigation and even urged the owners of the building to upgrade the elevator.
A similar incident also happened in August when an mechanic in Thailand was crushed to death by a falling elevator.
UNILAD contacted the Sao Paulo Department of Public Security for further comment.