Woman dies in east China lift tragedy

A woman died after getting stuck in a factory elevator in east China's Jiangsu Province, local authorities said Tuesday.

The accident happened at around 3:30 p.m. Monday in a cargo lift in Wuxi City, when the woman suddenly became stuck in the gap between the lift and the platform. Her body was severely distorted when rescuers arrived at the scene, according to the local government.

Further investigation is under way.

The accident came on the heels of another fatal tragedy in central China's Hubei Province, when a woman was killed in a shopping mall escalator on Sunday morning.

China ranks first worldwide in use and production of elevators and escalators. By the end of 2014, the country had 3.6 million elevators and escalators in use and recorded annual growth of 20 percent, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), the country's top quality watchdog.

A 2014 survey conducted by AQSIQ on 2,523 elevators aged 15 years or older showed 7 percent of them had major safety risks.

Last year, the country had 48 elevator and escalator-related accidents with a total of 36 deaths reported.