‘Heard us screaming’: Worker describes terrifying moments when elevator crashes 6 floors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) – An Alabama hospital said an elevator is back in service after it malfunctioned with team members inside on Wednesday morning.
However, the workers who were on the elevator said it was a terrifying experience.
A woman inside the elevator cab said it dropped six floors when she was on board with seven others.
“It was terrifying,” the woman, who works at the hospital and spoke under the condition of anonymity, said.
The worker said she and others were headed down on the elevator when they noticed it began to move up instead.
“It brought us all the way to the top, to the sixth floor, then it picked up speed like it was falling past all the other floors,” she said. “Everybody was screaming, and then it dropped us before crashing to the bottom.”
The woman said that after the fall, it took nearly 10 minutes to get them out.
“We were kind of having panic attacks … getting claustrophobic,” the hospital worker said. ” It was hot in there. We tried to call for help … we were beating on the door. People were saying that they heard us screaming. We had to be pulled out after the door was pried open.”
The woman said she was taken to the emergency room after the ordeal and is undergoing evaluations before being cleared to return to work.
A spokesperson with the Princeton Baptist Medical Center said all employees who were affected by the elevator malfunction were advised to seek medical evaluation.
Certified elevator technicians have evaluated the cab and it has returned to standard operations, the hospital said.
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