22-year-old woman in Indonesia stumbles off treadmill then falls out 3rd-floor open window
A young woman has died in a freak accident during her workout at a gym in Indonesia.
The incident happened at about 1pm local time on Tuesday (18 June), when the 22-year-old woman stumbled backwards off a treadmill and plunged to her death from the third-floor window behind her.
A video posted on X of the incident, which reportedly took place in Pontianak, a city in West Kalimantan, shows the woman running on a treadmill alongside other gym goers.
Source: @Heraloebss on Twitter
Woman falls out window after falling backwards from treadmill
As she stopped to wipe her face with a towel, the still-running treadmill continued to move her back.
She then stumbled backwards off the treadmill, lost her balance and fell out of a window behind her that just happened to be open.
Source: @Heraloebss on Twitter
Pontianak Police Commissioner Antonius Trias Kuncurojati told Indonesia’s Kompas newspaper that the woman, who went by the initials “F.N.”, had gone to the gym with her boyfriend and sibling.
While her boyfriend wanted her to exercise on the second floor, she wanted to use the treadmill on the third floor.
After using it for 30 minutes, she slowed down and started walking but suddenly fell out the window, the police said.
Woman dies from bleeding in the head
F.N. was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead there due to bleeding in the head.
An autopsy revealed that she had suffered extensive bruising and lacerations on her head.
The gym was subsequently closed for three days.
Position of window & treadmill was dangerous: Police
During police investigations at the gym, it was found that the window and treadmill were only 60cm apart.
While the window was 90cm wide, the distance between the floor and the bottom of the window was quite small at 30cm, Mr Antonius was quoted as saying.
Source: Kompass
The dangerous position made it very easy for users to fall, especially since the exertion from exercising may make them lose consciousness.
When the gym owner was questioned, he said the treadmills’ backs were facing the windows because he didn’t want to block the view.
To prevent gym users from feeling bored, they had to have an unblocked view of the outdoors, he added.
Insufficient warning against opening windows
As for why the window was open, Mr Antonius said the windows can be opened in order to clean the aircon and glass on the outside.
However, there were no warning signs put up, he added. A warning was scrawled with a marker on the glass, which couldn’t be seen clearly.
The gym had previously pasted stickers to warn people not to open the windows, but it was damaged.
While there are personal trainers who are tasked to close windows that are open, one was taking a break when the incident occurred.
Moreover, the gym windows have a thickness of only a few millimetres, which is too thin for a high-rise building, Mr Antonius said.
Glass used for windows in high-rise buildings should be thicker for the safety of its occupants, he added.
Gym under investigation
The gym is now under investigation for alleged negligence.
Its operating permit will also be re-examined, the authorities said.
As part of further investigations, the police are questioning a number of witnesses and seeking expert opinion.
They are also looking into several people who are suspected of opening the windows at the gym.
Also read: Man In China Passes Away After Barbell Lands On Neck, He Was Using Gym Alone
Man In China Passes Away After Barbell Lands On Neck, He Was Using Gym Alone
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Featured image adapted from @Heraloebss on Twitter.
