Woman dies after falling four storeys down a lift shaft when door opened to empty void

A woman has tragically died after plunging down a lift shaft in Italy.

Clelia Ditano, 25, sadly passed away after hurtling down four storeys and landing on the roof of the elevator which was still docked on the first floor of the apartment building in the town of Fasano in southern Italy, local media reports.

She had reportedly pressed the button to call the lift to the fourth floor and when the doors finally opened, she walked through - without noticing that the lift had not actually arrived.

Firefighters who recovered Clelia's body said that she died on impact after she crashed on top of the roof of the elevator in the early hours of this morning (1 July).

Her heartbroken father raised the alarm after ringing her mobile phone and realising it was coming from the lift shaft.

The dad alerted emergency services, who rushed to the scene at around 8.00am, after discovering his daughter's body.

Clelia Ditano, 25, plunged four storeys down the lift shaft (Instagram/@clelia_ditano)

An investigation is now underway into the incident, seeing police officers and firefighters team up as they try and determine why the doors opened even though the lift was still on the first floor.

An official told local media: "We can assume a malfunction of the locking system because the door should only open when the cabin is at the floor."

According to US firm Kings III Emergency Communications, who supply emergency communication services for elevators and pools, lifts are 'designed so that the car controls the opening of the doors'.

It explained: "If the car is not at the landing, it will not trigger the doors to open.

"While in particular instances, such as for maintenance reasons, the elevator doors may be opened when a cab is not present, the elevator passenger should always expect a cab to meet them when the elevator doors open.

"It is designed this way for safety reasons."

She uploaded a post to Instagram captioned 'here’s to what’s to come' just hours before her death (Instagram/@clelia_ditano)

Tributes have been flooding in for Clelia on social media since news of her death began to circulate, with pals describing her as a 'beautiful and kind' person.

Just hours before she passed away, she had shared an Instagram post showing her posing in a black dress and heels alongside the caption: "Here’s to what’s to come."

One friend commented: "It wasn't supposed to go this way, you were supposed to make all your dreams come true, the family you wanted to create, find true love..."

Another wrote: "RIP. How can someone die like that? Then even the sentence of this post written 20 hours ago 'to what's coming'... gives you the chills."

A third added: "My love, my heart is in a million pieces."

While a fourth said: "Rest in peace sweet angel. May your family survive this huge and unfair pain."

Clelia's loved ones said she was currently working as a cleaner in numerous bed and breakfasts in the area, adding that she loved dancing, going out and was a big sports fan.