Factory worker dies in elevator mishap

A 19-year-old stay-in worker died in a freak accident after his head got caught in a service elevator at a three-storey snack food factory Tuesday night in Malabon City.

PO2 Ananias Birad Jr., officer on case, identified the victim as Ronnel Lapuz, a stay-in employee of the Camella Food Manufacturing Co., maker of snacks and sweets, on 90 Camia street, Olvina Subdivision, Potrero, Malabon.

Lapuz was peeping through the service-cargo elevator on the second floor waiting for the cab to go down when the accident happened half an hour before midnight.

Lapuz unknowingly pressed the "down" button as he peeped, failing to keep his head out of the rushing elevator, which pinned him.

As the elevator got jammed, other workers noticed the victim sprawled on the floor and stopped the machine.

Factory officials, who declined to be named, said there were sufficient warning signs placed in strategic places so that workers will take the precautionary measures. The source said the elevator is not supposed to carry human passengers.

Co-workers tried to save Lapuz and rushed him to the MCU Hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival by Dr. Ernesto Gonzales at 12:40 a.m. yesterday.

Birad said relatives of the victim, was with the foodmaker for a year as a casual employee, had been advising him to be careful in his job, which involved operating several machines.

Lapuz reportedly was earning P60 a day. Workers claimed they receive P1,000 to P1,200 a week.

Casual workers are not entitled to benefits unlike regular employees.

Factory owner Larry Natividad promised to extend all possible assistance to the victim’s family. – With Pete Laude