A student died when an elevator at Huaqiao University unexpectedly rose as he was exiting, crushing him between the elevator and the shaft wall, West Strait Morning Post reported on Wednesday.

The incident happened on the university's Xiamen Campus at around 5:50 pm on Sunday. The student was exiting the elevator on the third floor of a teaching building when the door closed and dragged him upward into the shaft before the elevator stopped, witnesses said.

University personnel, police and rescue teams were called to the campus at 6 pm after receiving reports of a man trapped between the third and fourth floors of the building. The student, whose name has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at the scene.

His parents arrived at the campus around 9 pm.