Employee suffers near-fatal mishap at escape game room in Taipei

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) An employee at a horror-themed entertainment venue in Taipei almost lost her life on Sunday, when she was apparently accidentally strangled while playing the role of a ghost who had died by hanging, according to rescue workers.

The employee at the escape room in Xinyi District was found in a state of cardiac and respiratory arrest when first responders from the Taipei City Fire Department rushed to the scene after receiving an emergency call at 7:41 p.m. Sunday, they said.

Paramedics administered CPR to the woman and rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she regained her vital signs and was no longer in life-threatening danger, the department said in a news release.

An investigation later found that when the incident occurred, the 30-year-old employee, surnamed Wu (吳), was playing the role of the ghost of a person who had died by hanging, the fire department said.

It appeared that there was an accident that resulted in Wu being strangled by the prop rope around her neck, the department said, adding that she was found unconscious by coworkers and escape room guests.

The Taipei Police Department said it has ruled out the possibility of foul play, after questioning six witnesses and examining surveillance video footage from the escape room, as part of its preliminary investigation.

After Wu's family filed a criminal complaint for bodily injury, however, two representatives of the entertainment venue's management company were also called in for questioning, police said.

Furthermore, the venue where the accident occurred -- the "Yongchun Hospital" escape room run by Rostart Games -- has been referred to the relevant authorities for labor and workplace safety inspections, city officials said.

Escape rooms are live-action adventure facilities that offer interactive experiences in which a team of people are "locked" in a space and must find clues, solve riddles, or complete tasks to achieve a goal -- usually to escape -- within a set time limit.