Foul Smell At Airport Leads To Discovery Of Woman's Body Days After Fatal Fall

A woman's body was discovered on the premises of an Indonesian airport about three days after she fell down an elevator shaft.

The remains were found after the airport staff began receiving complaints about a foul smell.

The deceased woman, identified as Aisiah Sinta Dewi, 38, was at the Kualanamu Airport in Medan when the fatal fall took place on April 24, according to BBC News.

Surveillance footage captured Dewi entering the double-sided elevator, which allowed airport visitors and travelers to enter from both sides.

After entering the elevator, Dewi pushed the button to go to the second floor. However, it is unclear whether she noticed the elevator doors behind her opening up moments later.

Dewi was filmed waiting and looking at her phone before she appeared to push one of the elevator's buttons again. The footage went on to show Dewi making a phone call before she tried to pry the doors open.

The woman managed to open the doors and hastily stepped out before falling through the gap between the elevator and the landing, 9News reported.

Airport staff received complaints about a foul smell around three days after the incident. They then found Dewi's body at the bottom of the elevator shaft.

Dewi, at some point during her final moments, reportedly managed to make a phone call to her niece to say that she was trapped.

When family members failed to hear from her, they asked the airport staff to conduct a search.

Her brother, Raja Hasibuan, called the staff's response "unsatisfactory" and blamed poor elevator security for the woman's death.

"This is an international-level airport. How are safety standards like this?" he said, as per BBC News. "The response from the staff was very, very unsatisfactory."

An investigation ensued and several people, including airport officers and security personnel, were questioned.

An unrelated incident was reported in 2018 after a dead body was found on the runway of the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Hawaii. When authorities were informed about an unknown object on the runway, crews went to inspect the area and discovered the body. The runway was temporarily closed after the discovery.