Xian lift death: 'Why did no-one miss her?

Chinese media reported that those in charge of the lift maintenance and the district's property management company have been arrested

News that a Chinese woman died after being trapped in a lift for a month has prompted shock and questions online. The lift in residential building in Xian had been turned off by two maintenance workers on 30 January. The woman's body was found a month later.

In July 2015 a woman died after falling into a faulty mall escalator in Jingzhou city

The incident has once again raised concerns about China's troubled safety standards record, but also sparked discussion on issues from single women to care for the mentally unwell.

'Man-eating' lifts

"Thirty days, how much pain and suffering she would have gone through, my heart aches for her," said user Huixinya on the popular microblogging network Weibo.

Many like her expressed horror and sympathy at the death of the 43-year-old woman, whose family name was Wu. There was widespread outrage over reports that staff had only done a cursory check - by shouting to see if anyone was inside - before turning off the power.

Chinese media reported that those in charge of the lift maintenance and the district's property management company have been arrested for involuntary manslaughter.

"Would it have been so difficult to just open the lift and check?" said one user, while another pointed out: "What if it was a deaf person, or a deaf-mute person in the lift?"

Others lambasted the staff, calling them "lazy" and "irresponsible". "This is not due to a workplace accident, but due to workers who lack even a basic level of personal integrity," said a Weibo user.

The incident brought back worries of falling safety standards and a culture of cutting corners. In a prominent case last year, a woman died after falling into a faulty escalator in a shopping mall.

"The recent spate of lift and escalator deaths cannot be simply attributed to manufacturing issues, but also to shirked duties and careless maintenance," read one commentary on web portal Red Net, calling for standards to be improved to "cure this illness of 'man-eating' lifts".