“Only five months before the Olympic Games, I find it very worrying that this kind of thing could happen within one of the most visited monuments in France,” laments Singh Gagandip.
This employee of a fire protection company, Deep Isolation, says he is still shocked by what he and two of his colleagues experienced a few days ago.
On the night of Friday February 16 to Saturday February 17, the three employees believed that they were living “their last moments”.
Intervened on the Eiffel Tower for a simple insulation mission on the second floor of the building, the three flockers found themselves stuck for a long part of the night in the elevator of the south pillar, reserved for staff.
“We had just finished our shift so we were on our way home when the elevator got stuck between the first floor and the ground floor.
We stayed there from 3:50 a.m. to 8 a.m. until emergency services were sent to the scene and evacuated us,” explains the professional.
They cannot reach the firefighters “because of an operator problem”
Suspended at a height of approximately 30 m at the time of the incident, Singh Gagandip says he still lives, ten days later, with cumbersome flashbacks.
“When you look from below, you have the impression that it’s nothing, but it’s paralyzing from above, especially when you’re dizzy like me,” he assures.
Especially since we suffered four huge tremors.
I saw my life go by and one of my colleagues really thought it was the end.
»
Faced with this exceptional situation, considering the height and layout of the elevator, firefighters from the Research and Intervention Group in Perilous Environments (Grimp) were mobilized to the scene of the incident.
To put them out of their distress, the five firefighters responsible for rescuing the victims had no choice but to abseil the three men out.
“A technique perfectly mastered by our teams who are specialized in these complex situations.
But it can be very impressive for the people we help,” assure the firefighters.
Abseiling with the Paris firefighters is a “perfectly mastered” technique, but one that can impress.
DR
According to this same source, the operation lasted only around thirty minutes.
“If they were stuck for so long, it was because they couldn't reach us due to an operator problem.
But from the moment the firefighters arrived, everything went very quickly and smoothly.
»
“I had to go see a psychiatrist”
Once at the bottom, safe and sound, the firefighters explained to the victims that the elevator's bearing system had “broken”.
“It's exactly the same mechanism as the tourist elevators.
Imagine if that happened with visitors during the Olympics.
It is absolutely essential that it be renovated,” worries Singh Gagandip.
Also readBehind the scenes of the Eiffel Tower: underground, the precious guardian angels of the elevators
But what worries him the most in this whole misadventure is the lack of support from the Eiffel Tower operating company (Sete).
“Absolutely no one asked me if I was okay afterwards, even though today I am shocked by what I experienced,” he says indignantly.
I had to go see a psychiatrist who prescribed me a week of sick leave, which I will surely have to extend.
» La Sete did not respond to our requests.
The event having happened less than two days before the start of the social movement of Sete employees who blocked access to the monument for six days, the flocker cannot help but wonder if this incident was not was “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.
For Singh Gagandip in any case one thing is certain, “it was the first and last time” that he worked on the Eiffel Tower.