Toshiba Worker Killed as Elevator Falls 90 Meters

A 32-year-old employee of a Toshiba Corp. affiliate died Wednesday when an elevator on which he was carrying out maintenance work plunged from the 24th floor to the third basement of an elavator test tower at a Toshiba plant in Fuchu, Tokyo, police said.

Hiroshi Kurihara was killed instantly in the accident, which occurred at about noon. The test tower at the Toshiba plant was designed for testing the operations of elevators, police said. They have begun an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

According to the Tokyo Fire Department, the elevator with Kurihara inside dropped about 90 meters. Kurihara was already dead when rescue workers gained entry to the elevator by forcing open the doors. Kurihara belonged to the quality control section of his company.







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