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A 59-year-old man was stuck in the lift of the busy Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram for the past two days and was rescued on Monday morning by an operator who had arrived for routine work, police said.
The ordeal of Ulloor resident Ravindran Nair, a patient who came for a medical check up, began on Saturday when he stepped into the lift, which malfunctioned and trapped him inside.
He was later admitted to the hospital for related health issues.
The incident has prompted the government to initiate disciplinary action against the officials responsible for the lapse.
On Sunday night, the man's family filed a 'missing person' case with the Medical College police.
According to the police, Nair entered the lift to go to the first floor, but it malfunctioned and failed to open, leaving him trapped and unable to exit.
His cries for help went unheeded and his phone battery died and left him unable to call for assistance, they said.
State Health Minister Veena George has ordered an investigation into the incident and sought a report.
The health department has also suspended three staff members -- two lift operators and a duty sergeant.
Speaking to the media at the hospital, Nair said, "I tried calling all the emergency numbers listed inside the lift, but no one answered. The alarm was also sounded, but no one came. After some time, I understood that it was the second Saturday, and a Sunday the next day, and then I waited for help."
"Later, after some time, I lost track of time inside the lift. This morning, an operator came, and I pressed the alarm. We both forcefully opened the door from both sides, and I jumped out of it," Nair said.
The man said he had been sure that someone would come and operate the lift at least on Monday.
Nair's son, Hari Shankar, said his father was pretty shaken up as he had been inside the lift for almost two days.
"My father says he kept on ringing the alarm inside the lift, but no one came to his rescue," he said.
However, the medical college officials claimed that the lift was not a regularly used one.
Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan said the news that the man who came for treatment at the Medical College Hospital was trapped in a lift for two days is shocking.
He said the health minister should resign.
"Despite being (in) a busy OP (outpatient) department, the patient was trapped in the lift for two nights and a day. Doesn't the government and the health minister have any responsibility for this incident?" Satheesan asked.