MEDAN - The body of a woman who fell into a lift shaft in Kualanamu Airport, Medan, was found on April 27, three days after the incident.

The lift’s CCTV footage of what were likely to be Ms Aisiah Sinta Dewi Hasibuan’s final moments has since been circulating on social media. It is unclear how the clip found its way online.

In the video, she can be seen walking into the double-sided lift through the doors on the right at about 8.24pm local time on April 24, based on the timestamp on the footage.

Ms Aisiah then faces the doors she entered from, unaware that the doors behind her had opened seconds earlier. She appears to press the buttons in the lift before making a call on her mobile phone.

She touches the doors she entered from and they open slightly. Ms Aisiah then takes a step forward and plunges into the depths of the lift shaft.

Local reports gave conflicting information about Ms Aisiah’s age, but it is clear she was a resident of Jalan Garuda, Medan.

Family to lodge police report

Indonesian news website Tribunnews reported her body was found at about 4pm on April 27 after a strong smell was detected near the lift.

The portal reported that Ms Aisiah’s body was trapped at the bottom of the lift shaft, and was recovered only after a five-hour operation by the Kualanamu Airport security team. Her body was taken to Medan Bhayangkara Hospital.

The Deli Serdang police chief said the cause of death could not be determined, and they would have to wait for the results of the forensic examination conducted by the hospital, Tribunnews reported.

News outlet Medan Kompas reported that the airport’s head of corporate communications, Mr Dedi Al Subur, said the lift was not working properly when the incident occurred.

He added that the CCTV footage shows Ms Aisiah had forced both sides of the lift door to open, and that her family did not say precisely when they had the last contact with her while she was in the lift.

Ms Aisiah’s brother Raja Hasibuan attributed the incident to “poor elevator security”, reported Medan Kompas.

The family will report the management of the airport to the police, said Mr Raja, adding that as at April 30, they had not received news on Ms Aisiah’s cause of death.

He told Medan Kompas his family suspects the lift had a safety problem, and did not think the incident was the result of human error.

Mr Raja said Ms Aisiah was accompanying her niece to the airport at the time. While in the lift, she had called her niece and said she was trapped inside.

After they lost contact with her, Ms Aisiah’s family members asked airport security for help to look for her. They also asked to view CCTV footage of the lift but added that airport security showed them CCTV footage of other areas instead of the interior of the lift.

“We asked (for the footage) from the lift because the problem was clear,” said Mr Raja. “It was there we lost contact with her.”

He said the CCTV footage of the side of the lift was released only after Ms Aisiah’s body was discovered, instead of when they requested for it.

Ms Aisiah could not have forced the lift doors open, as she was holding her mobile phone in her dominant hand when the incident occurred, he added.