Men allegedly ordered against their will to act as weights to test elevator

Eleven Indian workers had a lucky escape after an elevator they were testing fell 45 floors to the ground.

The incident happened in a newly constructed building in Bahrain, when the workers were reportedly asked to serve as human weights in a new elevator at a residential tower in Manama.

The Gulf Daily News quoted sources as saying that the men had been ordered to enter the elevator to check it would hold their weight, despite their protests.

The men, aged between 26 and 46, were treated for neck, back and leg injuries at the Salmaniya Medical Complex, where a doctor said they were lucky to be alive.

The project's main contractor is Al Hamad Construction & Development Co. J.A. Zayani & Sons held the contract for the lift work, and is now investigating the incident.

Bahrain's labour ministry has also launched an investigation.

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