A young man died when his head got stuck in an automatic door at the entrance to a five star hotel near Karachi’s PIDC area on Thursday, according to police and hospital officials.
Saddar SP Abdullah Ahmed told Dawn that the head of 28-year-old Sirajuddin got stuck in an automatic door at the entrance to Movenpick Hotel when he tried to pass through it hurriedly.
The young man sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), where he died during treatment.
Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the hospital, said that the young man received critical injuries on his head and face.
“He was in critical condition when he was brought to the hospital and died during treatment,” she confirmed.
The deceased used to supply ice to the five star hotel and hailed from Balochistan’s Pishin district, said the police.
South SSP Pir Mohammed Shah told Dawn that so far, no one has approached the police to pursue the case legally.
However, the senior officer added that he has directed the Saddar SP to personally look into the matter and if the family wants it, lodge an FIR to ascertain whether there was any negligence on the part of the hotel administration that led to the incident.
SP Ahmed said that the police have launched an inquiry into the incident and obtained CCTV footage and recorded statements of witnesses.
The officer said that the victim’s body has been taken to Pishin for burial by his driver, who had accompanied him to the hospital. The police will also record his statement to ascertain whether this was merely an accident or if some other factor was involved.
‘Sad day’
The management of the hotel confirmed the incident and expressed their regret over the accidental death of the ice supplier.
“It was a sad day for us today. We had a 20-22-year old association with the vendor who used to supply ice to us over this period,” said the executive assistant manager while speaking to Dawn.com.
The manager said that the automatic doors had not malfunctioned and that it was purely an accident as “the man had walked into the doors at the time they were closing”.
“The doors had been and have since worked perfectly fine,” he added.
He said that the police were contacted immediately after the accident took place and the hotel staff accompanied the vendor to the hospital.
The senior management officer further said that the hotel was fully cooperating with and assisting the police in their investigation into the matter.
