Elevator tragedy at St Lucy’s School, Wahroonga: Child, 10, killed after being crushed by elevator identified as ‘sweet’ boy – as details emerge
EXCLUSIVE
A ‘beautiful’ special school student who died after being crushed by a lift was an only child who is believed to have had a fixation on lifts.
Sanad Shahriar, 10, was trapped under a lift in an old building at St Lucy’s School in Wahroonga on Sydney’s Upper North Shore about 2pm on Wednesday.
In disturbing scenes, rescue workers tried to remove Sanad from the elevator, but despite their best efforts, he died at the scene.
Sanad was the only child of Hasan Shariar, a technical manager, and Dr. Yasmin Haque, a general practitioner who works at a local medical center.
Sanad Shahriar, 10 (pictured), tragically died in a school accident on Wednesday
Sanad was the only child of Hasan Shariar and Dr. Yasmin Haque (pictured)
An alumni Facebook group of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) announced the sad news on Thursday.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart that I announce that our BUETian brother Hasan Shahriar’s (EEE’96) only son died in an incident at school yesterday,” the post reads.
“Please pray for sweet little Sanad and Hasan Shahriar and Dr. Yasmin.”
Police are investigating whether the elevator, which was located on the ground floor of the school’s Veritas building, was broken.
The school was reportedly raising money to upgrade the Veritas building – a 1970s building – with new facilities. St. Lucy’s declined to comment.
Investigators are investigating whether the elevator may have malfunctioned, allowing the doors to open before the elevator was operational.
The exact circumstances under which the incident occurred are unclear. Investigators hope video surveillance will show what happened.
Emergency crews were called to Wahroonga School on Sydney’s Upper North Shore at around 2pm on Wednesday
As the community grapples with the tragedy, flowers and cards have accumulated outside the school
Tributes piled up outside St. Lucy’s Church, which houses both elementary and high school students with autism, sensory impairments and mild to severe intellectual disabilities.
On Wednesday afternoon, bouquets of flowers and handwritten cards could be seen stacked on a table outside the main office with a note reading: “Rest in peace, sweet boy.”
Above the entrance gate were laminated heart-shaped cards made by students from St Edmund’s – a neighboring special school in Wahroonga – bearing messages of condolence to students and staff.
Pictured: Heart-shaped cards made by students at St Edward’s School were seen at the entrance gate on Wednesday
“Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this sad time.” “We express our condolences to you and carry you in our hearts,” the cards say.
SafeWork NSW and NSW Police are investigating the tragedy. Inspectors and officers were seen patrolling the school on Wednesday.
A spokeswoman for SafeWork NSW said it had been “informed of a fatal incident at a school in Wahroonga”.
“SafeWork’s investigation is ongoing and no further comment can be made at this time.”
When the tragedy unfolded Wednesday, the school was placed on lockdown and about 230 K-12 students were forced to remain in their classrooms.
Parents were informed of a “medical emergency” around 2:30 p.m. and advised that there would be delays in picking up their children.
The school will remain closed indefinitely while the investigation takes place.