This is the shocking moment a delivery man plummets down an empty lift shaft while delivering food in a building undergoing construction – leaving him with a shattered spine.
CCTV footage captured the moment the man, known only as Ke, walked into the building in Wenzhou, China, on the evening of March 12.
Geared up with a winter jacket and a biker’s helmet, he seemingly fails to notice the giant pitfall ahead of his path.
Holding two carrier bags of food, the delivery worker continues walking down the corridor, appearing to be in a rush to deliver the meal.
In a heart-stopping moment, Ke’s foot slips over the solid ground and right into an empty space – sending him plunging into the abyss.
He completely disappears from sight as he falls through the hole and onto the floor beneath him, while still clinging onto his deliveries.
Speaking to local media on Saturday, Ke said that the incident took place in a factory building where the lighting in the corridor was poor.
He accidentally stepped into the lift shaft and fell from the third floor to the second floor, sustaining severe injuries to his spine.
Ke said: ‘There were no barriers around, so once I stepped on it, I fell down. My lumbar spine was injured, and my bones were shattered.’
He was subsequently taken to the hospital, where he underwent surgery and is currently recovering.
Local police also confirmed the incident but did not say if the factory would be faced with any legal consequences for not properly marking off the hazard area.
The incident comes after a man faced a similar situation in 2017.
A delivery worker, 37, suffered serious brain injuries after he fell down a lift shaft in Shenzhen, southeast China.
The man was also found to have cuts and wounds all over his body that he would have to rely on a ventilator to breathe.
And in 2016, two warehouse workers plummeted down a lift shaft while riding an out of control cart.
According to local reports, they were unable to stop their vehicle as the floor was too slippery.
The pair reportedly suffered minor injuries