Three members of the engineering team at Dusit Thani Residence Davao died after an incident while carrying out maintenance work at the property’s lifting station in the early hours of October 5, 2026, prompting an investigation by authorities and calls from grieving families for a clear explanation of what happened.
The hotel confirmed the deaths in a statement, saying the three engineering personnel were conducting maintenance work at the lifting station when the incident occurred.
Emergency responders from Davao City Central 911 and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) were immediately called to the scene. Despite the emergency response, all three personnel died.
The hotel did not disclose the specific nature of the incident or the circumstances that led to the deaths, saying authorities were still investigating.
Hotel suspends similar maintenance work
Following the incident, the affected area was secured and the hotel suspended similar maintenance activities pending a full review.
Dusit Thani Residence Davao said it was cooperating fully with the relevant authorities conducting the investigation.
“While the investigation is ongoing, we will not speculate on the cause,” the hotel said, adding that additional information would be released once the facts had been confirmed.
The hotel also expressed condolences to the families, loved ones and fellow employees of the three workers and said it was in direct contact with each family and providing full support.
The deaths have raised questions about workplace safety, particularly because the three personnel were performing maintenance duties in an area involving a lifting station—an environment where strict safety procedures, hazard controls and emergency protocols are critical.
However, no official finding has yet established what caused the incident or whether any safety protocol was breached.
Families demand answers
As the investigation continued, relatives of the deceased took to social media to express their grief and frustration over what they described as unanswered questions.
One family member said the family would not have resorted to social media if they had received an adequate explanation about what happened.
The relative stressed that the maintenance personnel were performing work that carried significant risks and questioned whether the same level of concern given to guests was also being extended to employees responsible for maintaining the property.
Another grieving family member, identifying the deceased as Engineer RJ Ramon Ramos, directly addressed the hotel management and called for a transparent explanation of the circumstances surrounding his death.
The family said it wanted to know how the incident happened, whether appropriate safety measures were in place, and what actions were taken before, during and after the incident.
The family emphasized that it was not seeking an unreasonable demand, but rather “truth, justice, transparency, and accountability.”
“RJ Ramon Ramos deserves justice, and our family deserves answers,” the family member said in the social media statement.
The family’s concerns have placed renewed attention on the importance of occupational safety, particularly for workers tasked with operating, repairing or maintaining potentially hazardous equipment and facilities.
Investigation expected to determine circumstances
For now, the precise sequence of events remains unclear.
The hotel has refrained from identifying a cause while the investigation is underway, and authorities have yet to release a definitive finding on what happened at the lifting station.
It also remains unclear from the information publicly released whether the incident involved equipment failure, a structural or mechanical hazard, an operational error, or another circumstance.
Those questions are expected to form part of the authorities’ investigation and the hotel’s internal review.
The incident has also underscored the vulnerability of maintenance and engineering workers whose duties often require them to work in confined, mechanical, electrical or otherwise hazardous areas that are largely unseen by hotel guests.
For the families of the three workers, however, the investigation is more than a technical inquiry. They are seeking answers that could help explain how their loved ones died while performing their jobs.
Until authorities complete their investigation, any conclusion regarding liability or the cause of the incident would be premature.
What is established is that three engineering personnel lost their lives while carrying out maintenance work at Dusit Thani Residence Davao in the early hours of October 5, and their families are now demanding clarity about the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
The hotel has said it will release further information once the facts have been confirmed.