There is only one known death caused by a falling elevator.
While it is a popular subject in folklore and entertainment, elevators are actually pretty safe overall. The only known death caused by a falling elevator happened in Thailand in 2012.
A lift at a Home Furniture Class store started dropping from the fourth floor because a sling chain snapped. There were 3 people in the elevator. One was pregnant and miscarried as a result of it. One person died and the other two suffered critical injuries.
Despite this incident, cable-borne elevators are extremely safe. It's estimated that only 1 in 12 million elevator rides result in an anomaly, and the vast majority of them are minor things like the doors failing to open.
