Two people killed in Zim lift accident

Harare - Two people have been killed in a horrific elevator accident in Bulawayo's tallest building - and police only found their bodies 24 hours later, reports said on Sunday.

Police say a woman working in the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) building got stuck on the eighth floor on Friday afternoon after normal working hours.

She used her phone to call for help and a technician from the elevator company was dispatched.

Police spokesperson Charity Charamba told the state-controlled Sunday Mail newspaper: "We believe that he tried to pull her out but was overpowered because the woman was of heavy build.

"The two subsequently fell into the shaft, leading to their deaths," Charamba added.

The private Standard newspaper named the woman as Elizabeth Mlangeni, an accountant who worked for NRZ. The technician has only been identified as Masina.

Mlangeni's family only reported her as missing on Saturday morning, according to the Standard.

The bodies were located on Saturday afternoon but it took police and fire brigade officers near three hours to retrieve them. The NRZ building in Bulawayo has 28 floors.

National Railways of Zimbabwe acting general manager Lewis Mukwada told the Sunday Mail: "It was a very unfortunate accident."

One person died and three were injured in a lift crash at the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Organisation in Harare in March.