A toddler fell down an elevator shaft in Voronezh, Russia, after pushing against a door that unexpectedly gave way while his parents looked on in horror. Concerned that the elevator might descend from a higher floor, crushing them, the boy’s father jumped in after him. The incident occurred on the ground floor of the family’s apartment building.
Fortunately, the child managed to avoid metal spikes at the bottom of the shaft as he plunged approximately 6 feet into darkness. The mother used a flashlight to help her husband locate the boy, while heroic neighbors intervened by holding the lift on the third floor, preventing it from descending further and causing harm to the child and his father.
The father, Alexey, rescued his son Matvey by pulling him back through the damaged door before climbing out himself. Matvey sustained minor injuries and was taken to the hospital for evaluation, where he was found to only have a few bruises on his head and back, much to the family’s relief.
Alexey expressed gratitude that their child was safe, acknowledging the terrifying nature of the situation. He credited the quick response of neighbors for averting a more serious outcome, emphasizing that his son miraculously landed safely and avoided the rebar at the bottom of the shaft.
Following the incident, the child has returned home and has since calmed down. The Russian Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal investigation into the incident. Alexey criticized the condition of the building’s elevators, describing them as substandard and unreliable, noting that they have been operational for only a fraction of the time since the building’s completion a year ago.
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