Durban — A man who was stuck in a lift between two floors for hours was freed by the IPSS Medical Rescue’s Search and Rescue division and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers in KwaZulu-Natal.
IPSS Medical Rescue managing director Dylan Meyrick said that on Saturday, the IPSS Search and Rescue division was called out to a shopping centre for a man who was trapped in a lift, reportedly for several hours.
“On arrival of rescue personnel, it was established that the elevator had become stuck between two floors with a man inside. After a short while, IPSS Search and Rescue members, using specialised tools, were able to free the man with the help of CERT volunteers,” Meyrick said.
“The man was assessed by IPSS Medical Rescue medics and found to be in a stable condition.”
Meanwhile, in an unrelated incident, in February, load shedding left five women trapped in an elevator for almost two hours in a northern KZN mall.
UMlalazi Local Municipality spokesperson Nonhlanhla Jele said mayor Queen T Xulu applauded the swift reaction by the local Fire and Rescue team following the jamming of a lift in The Atrium shopping centre in the Eshowe central business district.
The victims were rescued with the assistance of emergency services and one of the Defence Department workers, said Staff Sergeant Moholo.
UMlalazi Fire Chief Officer Xolani Blose said the incident was unfortunate and could have been avoided by placing notices warning customers not to use lifts during scheduled load-shedding times.
“While we are going to robustly engage the centre authorities on the precautionary measures that could have been exercised, we also urge the community to exercise caution whenever they intend to use lifts. Our emergency reaction units will be on standby to ensure the safety of the locals,” Xulu said.
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