Drove into the parking lot, got out of the car - and the robotic lift plummeted two floors down: "I thought a missile had fallen"

A vehicle placed into a robotic parking lot in a residential building in the Neve Sha'anan neighborhood of Tel Aviv crashed on Sunday after the elevator it was on plummeted, according to residents, two floors down. The owner of the vehicle managed to get out before the collapse and was not injured.

Residents of the building on Yesod HaMa'ala Street, who claim the parking lot has suffered from recurring malfunctions since its establishment, say the force of the impact shook the structure and triggered the fire alarm. Following the incident, several other vehicles remained stuck inside.

"A.", the owner of the vehicle that was on the lift at the time of the collapse, shared his experience:

"I arrived at the elevator, pressed for ascent, and suddenly I heard an abnormal boom. The car crashed. If I had stayed in the car for a few more minutes, who knows what would have happened."

According to him, even a day after the incident, he still does not know the condition of his vehicle or the cause of the collapse:

"When it happened, I thought a missile had fallen on the building. I was in shock. People ran out of the building because of the boom and the emergency alarm was also activated."

For him, the vehicle is a vital work tool. "I drive all the time for work and this disables me. I try to park outside when I can, but last week I parked on the street and received an alert from Ituran that they were trying to break into my car. I no longer know what is better — for my car to be stolen or for it to crash."

Another resident noted that the incident followed a long period of ongoing issues:

"From the day this parking lot was established, there have only been malfunctions. I personally can no longer use it and look for parking on the street. Even if you managed to put the car in the evening, in the morning you can find yourself waiting for them to fix a malfunction."

According to him, residents pay every month for the service but cannot rely on it. "I have already sued them in the past over the service. We pay every month and are trapped in this situation."

Yesterday afternoon, around 17:00, residents heard a loud boom and felt a tremor. As of now, six or seven other car owners cannot retrieve their vehicles. "All the residents were messaging on WhatsApp. We all felt it was a matter of time until something happened. We are shocked by what occurred. Someone could have been killed."

The company operating the elevator has not yet provided a response.