'Almost out of oxygen': Man trapped for over an hour after lift at Oxley Tower plunges 7 storeys

A man was trapped for over an hour after the lift he was in suddenly plunged from the 17th storey and got stuck between the ninth and 10th floor.

His friend, surnamed Sun, told Shin Min Daily News that the man was leaving his workplace at Oxley Tower in Robinson Road at around 7pm on Monday (May 6) when the lift malfunctioned.

"My friend said he felt what seemed like the lift wire rope breaking, and then the lift plummeted quickly. At the same time, the alarm was triggered," said Sun, who is in her 30s.

She added that her friend was stuck inside with no mobile signal. About 45 minutes later, he managed to send a voice message to their mobile group chat for help.

"I quickly called 995 after hearing his message. He was panicked and said he was almost out of oxygen," Sun recounted.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told AsiaOne they received a call for assistance at around 7.50pm that day.

Firefighters found the man trapped inside a lift carriage that was stalled between the ninth and tenth floor of the building. They pried open the lift doors, creating a gap to speak to the man and update him of their progress in releasing the stalled lift.

They also ensured that he was not injured and did not require medical attention.

A lift technician, who was activated by the SCDF, managed to bring the lift safely down to the first floor. There were no reported injuries.

The management of the 32-storey Oxley Tower told Shin Min that its preliminary investigations found that the lift maintenance team received a report of the malfunction at about 7.40pm and arrived at the scene at 8.20pm.

The man was rescued at about 8.35pm.

The management added that the building's elevators are regularly maintained in accordance with the authorities' regulations, and the last routine maintenance was done on April 29.

"We are investigating further to verify the exact time the lift malfunctioned. We will also be working closely with the lift maintenance team to ensure the lift's reliability, which has always been our top priority."

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com