Hyderabad: What began as a routine journey home turned into a frightening ordeal for a young man in Uppal, who spent nearly two hours trapped inside a malfunctioning lift at the Uppal skywalk near the Uppal metro station late on Thursday night before rescue teams brought him to safety.The youth, identified as K Rahul, a resident of a men’s hostel in Uppal, was returning from work when he boarded lift 6B at the skywalk. The lift reportedly developed a technical snag while moving from the ground floor to the second floor and came to a halt between the first and second floors, leaving him stranded inside.With the assistance of a technician, rescue teams managed to open the lift and safely bring Rahul out at around 1.15 am, nearly two hours after he was trapped.Speaking to mediapersons after the rescue, an emotional Rahul said he was terrified during the ordeal and urged authorities to ensure proper maintenance of lifts to prevent similar incidents in the future. Rahul is a native of Mahbubnagar district and works in a private firm.Police personnel alerted the fire department after receiving a distress call from Rahul around 11.30 pm. Cops also alerted the Disaster Response Force, which rushed to the spot and launched rescue operations. Initial attempts to open the lift doors proved difficult, delaying the rescue effort.“Rahul boarded one of the two lifts in the skywalk that was not functioning properly. It was moving from the ground floor to the second floor when it got stuck between the first and second floors. We received information about the incident, contacted the police and then carried out the rescue operation,” said Ramakrishna Reddy, station fire officer of the Uppal fire station.
