MIDTOWN — A elevator worker died after plunging 10 stories down a shaft in a Midtown office building Friday, the building's managers and FDNY officials said.
The man, who has not been identified, was rushed to Bellevue hospital in cardiac arrest.
He had been working on the elevator with his partner at the Bricken Arcade, on at 230 W. 38th Street at Seventh Avenue, shortly before 10:30 a.m., according to fire officials and workers from the city's Office of Emergency Management.
Ruhi Raffin, 39, who works in the building, said she heard commotion as she was standing in the lobby.
"I heard a scream," she said. "I wasn't sure what it was, but I heard a scream." Other people who worked in the building reported hearing banging in the shaft followed by a person moaning.
The building's elevators have experienced difficulties in the last week, according to Raffin, and she said she had seen the deceased worker in the building the last few days.
The Department of Buildings is investigating the incident along with the police, according to a DOB spokeswoman Jennifer Gilbert.
ABS, the company that manages the building, said in a statement that it was "saddened by this tragic incident and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the individual."
