Yesterday saw two incidents that proved what a dangerous place Shenzhen can be.

A woman was killed after falling down an elevator shaft the same day as three people were squeezed out of a moving Metro train and abandoned in the tunnel.

The woman, a cleaner named Tan Hailan (42) who was from Sichuan, fell down an elevator shaft from the 16th floor to the 2nd after the door opened but the elevator hadn’t arrived, according to Southern Metropolis Daily. The tragedy, which took place in building A of Baoan District’s Fuyong Heping Community at around 2:46 p.m., is the latest in a number of accidents involving elevators in the city.

The elevator in Fuyong Heping Community, image courtesy of Southern Metropolis Daily

The cause is being investigated and two other elevators in the complex were closed for maintenance afterwards.

Just over an hour later, three passengers were thrown out onto the tunnel when the door opened on an overcrowded Metro train that was in motion. The incident occurred near Convention & Exhibition Centre, and although nobody was seriously injured, the passengers had to be treated for shock, Xinhua reported.

Mr. Wu said his wife had just come from Zhongshan and they were on a day out with some friends. At 6:05 p.m. they were on a crowded train between Gangxia and Convention & Exhibition Centre when Wu heard a shout of: “There’s been an accident. Help!”

This female passenger’s legs were shaking for hours after the incident and her clothes had been soiled, image courtesy of Xinhua.

The train stopped and Wu turned to see that one of the people that had been thrown out onto the tunnel was his wife. He got out to help her before the trains doors closed and it moved off. The three people standing outside promptly called the police and they had to cling to a fire hydrant while another train whizzed past before anybody could get to them.

South China Morning Post has more:

A Shenzhen Metro spokeswoman surnamed Tang told South China Morning Post on Monday the accident was triggered by a scuffle that broke out between two passengers in the carriage. The chaos prompted someone to pull the emergency cord that eventually brought the train to a stop.

It is yet to be explained why the driver opted to move away while they were still in the tunnel.