A man who was a guest at a Birmingham hotel found himself stuck in the lift as he feared for his life after it broke down between floors.
Vijay Bali, 28, was meeting a friend at a room inside Fort Dunlop’s Travelodge Erdington when the lift broke down.
Mr Bali filmed himself feeling ‘hot and anxious’ inside the lift after waiting for over half an hour.
He was freed within the hour by a maintenance worker.
Travelodge said he was stuck in the lift for 40 minutes,but was swiftly freed after it lodged a ‘priority call’ with its maintenance team.
Mr Bali, who works as a sales advisor, said: “I went to the desk, checked in, jumped in the lift and pressed number five. I felt the lift going up, then all of a sudden there’s lights flashing and noises going.
“I tried to press the buzzer and tried to open the door but I could just see brick. Next thing I know the maintenance man says: ‘You’re stuck in the lift.’
“I was in between floors seven and eight. My phone battery was on ten per cent and the worst thing was I was starving as well. I just kept thinking what if the wire snaps and it comes crashing down or up, I just sat there on the floor thinking: ‘I’m going to die’.
“It was stuck making all those noises. I could feel the lift trying to pull itself up and down. On top of that I could hear people in the other working lift laughing and talking. It was like being trapped in a prison c
“The maintenance guy came, he said usually it takes three – four hours, so I was glad to see him. He got it open and there was a little gap by floor eight so I pulled myself out to the 8th floor.
“I was laughing and joking afterwards because there was a lot of customers around but I’m scared to jump in a lift ever again and I’m worried about passing that fear onto my kids.”
Travelodge apologised to Mr Bali and said it had refunded his stay in full and given him a voucher for another stay at the hotel.
It added that he was rescued after 40 minutes and the company was in contact with him throughout that time.
A spokeswoman for Travelodge said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to Mr Bali for the isolated incident that took place at our hotel on Friday evening.
“The hotel team were in contact and supporting Mr Bali throughout the 40 minutes whilst the maintenance team opened the lift with a bespoke key.
“As a gesture of good for this inconvenience we offered Mr Bali and his partner complimentary refreshments in the hotel’s Bar Café, refunded his stay in full and also gave him a complimentary voucher for a future stay.”
