A woman fell into an open manhole in the center of Manhattan, New York, and died. According to an initial reconstruction, the victim – Donike Gocaj, 56 years old – opened the door of his car parked next to a jewelry shop on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, took a couple of steps and then suddenly fell into the void. When she was rescued she was unconscious. She was pronounced dead in hospital. It happened shortly after 11pm on Monday 18 May.
“A couple of steps, then she fell”
The reasons why that manhole was open are not yet clear. The New York Post collected the testimony of a man who witnessed the tragedy. “The moment she got out of her SUV, the woman closed the door behind her, took just a couple of steps forward and simply fell into the hole,” recalled the witness, who underlined that the victim did not seem “distracted” or on the phone.
“He was in there, in the hole, and he was screaming that he was dying. He kept repeating: ‘I’m dying, I’m dying’…”, added the witness. Donike Gocaj was rescued and transported to hospital and died as a result of her injuries.
Investigations underway
“We are deeply saddened to confirm that a citizen has died after falling into an open manhole,” said the company that managed the manhole. The company added that it has opened an internal investigation to clarify the tragedy, while the police said that the medical examiner will officially establish the cause of death.