New Mother Crushed to Death in Hospital Elevator Accident Just Hours After Giving Birth

One of the most horrific and tragic accidents imaginable happened in Spain this weekend, when a young woman was killed by a hospital elevator just hours after giving birth.

According to The Telegraph, 25-year-old mother of three Rocio Cortes Nunez was in the Our Lady of Valme hospital in Sevilla, Spain, on Sunday, August 20. Nunez had just delivered a baby girl named Traina–her third daughter–by C-section. After the surgery, a hospital employee wheeled Nunez towards the maternity ward for recovery.

A hospital porter wheeled her towards the maternity ward

Witnesses said Nunez’s bed was on the elevator going up to the maternity ward, but the elevator wasn’t going up. The doors just opened and closed, but nothing happened. The BBC says the hospital employee with Nunez started taking her off the elevator to get onto a different one. But the elevator suddenly shot up while Nunez was half off the elevator and the doors were still open. Nunez was caught in the door and her torso was crushed by the bottom of the elevator and the top of the door.

The fire department came as quickly as possible, but it was too late to save her. It took firefighters two hours to remove her body from the door. Local newspapers say she was cut in half in the accident, but according to the New York Daily News, the police and hospital have not confirmed the extent of her injuries.

The baby was not with her at the time

Nunez’s newborn had just been sent to another hospital. The baby had a heart condition, which needed treatment elsewhere. Hospital employees say if not for that, the baby would have been on her mother’s chest when it happened, and would almost certainly have been killed as well.

Nunez’s family is devastated. Her husband was in the hospital and he heard it happen. Her parents learned of her death when they came to visit her that afternoon. They thought they were coming to see their daughter and her new baby.

“This cannot end like this,” Nunez’s husband told reporters. “This time it has been Rocio but tomorrow it could be another person. I’m a total wreck.”

Nunez and Rocio have three daughters. The older two are only five and four years old.

The health ministry is investigating what could possibly have gone wrong. Regional health minister Marina Alvarez said the elevator passed safety inspections earlier this month.

Also read:

(Image: Facebook / Remembering Rocio Cortes Nunez)

Similar Posts