Chinese man survives 22-storey fall after stepping into 'floorless lift'

The lift doors opened, he took a step in, and plunged from the 30th floor.

Police officers in Guizhou, China, were alerted to a case of a man stranded in a lift shaft on Sunday evening (Dec 22).

When they arrived on the scene, they found the victim desperately clinging onto the metal cable, reported Apple Daily.

The victim later revealed that he had been trapped for at least 20 minutes.

He had been waiting to board the lift on the 30th floor to go to the ground level. The doors opened even though the lift itself had yet to arrive.

Not realising something was amiss, the man stepped in and plunged, managing to halt his fall only by grasping onto the lift's metal cable.

He recounted: "I was stranded on the 8th floor when I realised there was a phone signal. That's how I managed to call the police for help. Till now, I'm still quite shaken. I'm glad I'm still alive."

The firefighters rescued him within five minutes.

Fortunately, he didn't sustain any injuries. A renovation worker, he had a pair of gloves on at that point in time, preventing him from suffering friction burns on his hands.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUgvu1cst8A[/embed]

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rainercheung@asiaone.com