A resident fell down an elevator shaft in a municipal building on Thursday in the Quinta dos Barros neighborhood, located in the parish of São Domingos de Benfica, according to a statement by the municipal company Gebalis.
Prior to this clarification, a source from the Public Security Police (PSP) informed that a 38-year-old man sustained serious injuries after falling into an elevator shaft in Lisbon.
“The man was on the seventh floor of the building, called the elevator, and when the door opened, he did not realize the cabin wasn’t there and fell, suffering serious injuries,” stated a source from the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the PSP.
The incident occurred on Thursday at around 19:30, and the victim was transported to Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon, according to the PSP.
Expressing deep regret over the incident, Gebalis stated that from the first moment, they have been in contact with the injured resident’s family, as well as with the relevant authorities, “actively collaborating with the ongoing investigation.”
“Today, an assessment by a certified entity will take place to determine the causes of the incident,” added the company responsible for managing municipal housing in Lisbon.
According to Gebalis, in the area where the accident occurred in the Quinta dos Barros neighborhood, “there are two elevators: one was operational, subject to mandatory maintenance and inspections, and the other had recently undergone extensive modernization, pending only the final inspection to be put into service.”
The inspection for the modernized elevator “was brought forward to today to ensure residents have access to an elevator,” they informed.
The municipal company also mentioned that in Telheiras Sul neighborhood, on Rua Frei Joaquim de Santa Rosa de Viterbo, a modernization project for 10 elevators has been underway since May this year, with an investment of 277,000 euros, noting that this intervention follows the rehabilitation of the five municipal housing lots in the area under the Morar Melhor Program.
Regarding this, Gebalis stated they have made “an unprecedented investment in the modernization and repair of municipal elevators: 13.5 million euros between 2022 and 2025 (until the end of the year), double the amount invested in the previous four-year period (6.85 million euros).”
This effort, according to the company, “addresses decades of lack of investment” in elevator maintenance, as well as a context of increasingly frequent vandalism of these facilities, which undermines their daily use.
In this regard, Gebalis’ strategy is based on three pillars, namely structured maintenance, scheduled repairs, and accelerated modernization, ensuring greater reliability, fewer breakdowns, and better service quality for the residents.
Reaffirming their solidarity with the victim and the resident’s family who fell from the elevator, the company reinforced their “unwavering commitment” to the safety and well-being of the residents of municipal neighborhoods.
