Tech CEO falls to his death during onstage entrance at company event
The CEO of tech firm Vistex died after falling 20 feet to the stage during his grand entrance at a company party.
According to The Times of India, authorities said CEO Sanjay Shah and president Vishwanath Raju Datla were waving to the staff from an iron cage that was 20 feet in the air when the accident happened last week at the Ramoji Film City studios in Hyderabad, India. It was a "planned event to kickstart the celebrations," a Vistex official told the local media outlet, referring to their 25th anniversary.
A seen in a video shared by The Indian Express on X, one of the wires attached to the prop suddenly snapped as the two were being lowered, causing them to fall onto the concrete stage. "A rolling machine was pulling the cage when the strings broke. The compartment collapsed at great speed," police said, adding that the incident "caused multiple injuries."
Around 700 guests attended the event.
Shah sustained severe injuries and died at the hospital. He was 56.
Datla, meanwhile, is still in critical condition after sustaining a major head injury from the fall.
Business Insider reported that Vistex has submitted a complaint to the police, claiming that there was a "lack of safety measures" at the venue. An investigation on the case is ongoing.
Vistex is a software company with over 20 offices across the globe. It was founded by Shah in 1999.
