China: Woman's body found in lift one month after it was shut down

A woman's body was found in a lift one month after its power had been turned off because of a fault, regional government officials have said.

Two workers switched off power to the lift on 30 January in a residential block in the north-western Chinese city of Xi'an after they were called to check on a fault, but they neglected to check if anyone was inside the lift, according to reports.

District officials say that a crew made the horrifying find when they returned to carry out repairs on 1 March. New Year celebrations apparently delayed the work.

Local reports say that the 43 year-old woman lived alone in the building. Scratches were reportedly found inside the lift.

Residents staged a protest over the weekend over the incident and the poor quality of building maintenance.

The woman's death is being treated as involuntary manslaughter and several people have been arrested, officials say.

Failing to check the lift properly before shutting it off amounts to "gross negligence" they said.