A 70-year-old woman employee died after falling into a lift shaft at a popular biryani outlet on GST Road in Pallavaram on Monday morning. The deceased, identified as M. Mumtaz, was working at the outlet housed in a three-storey building. According to police sources, Mumtaz arrived at work around 10 a.m. as usual and was waiting on the first floor to take the lift to the second floor. Police said the lift was descending from the second floor when its doors opened on the first floor, although the lift cabin had reportedly not reached the floor level. Police are examining whether a technical malfunction, including a possible failure of the lift cable or safety mechanism, caused the accident.