Shoppers at a Sainsbury’s outlet were left trapped for over two hours after a lift broke down, slammed into the ground and knocked all passengers off their feet
A total of 10 shoppers were left trapped for over two hours after a lift broke down at a Sainsbury’s store. The lift at the Blackpool supermarket “made and awful noise” before falling and slamming into the ground below, knocking all the passengers off their feet.
Jason Redshaw, 53, who was in the lift to experience this terrifying ordeal told the BBC that those inside had to resort to screaming for help after the emergency bell system that we all think we can rely on, failed.
He told the BBC: “As soon as the door closed we heard this awful kind of grinding, crunching noise as if something was scraping against the side of the elevator and we heard this noise from above.
“Suddenly we felt as if the ground kind of fell away beneath us and as if basically we were dropping and that the system had just failed.”
Mr Redshaw said he then stood up and tried to prize open the lift doors with a pair of nail clippers. After making a few centimetres of progress he was greeted by nothing but a brick wall on the other side.
In order to try and grab someone’s attention, the trapped shoppers began banging on the doors and screaming.
Those trapped included a man with a lung condition and another who had recently been diagnosed with heart issues, as well as older shoppers in their 70s.
Mr Redshaw added: “One gentleman had bought a frying pan and he was actually using it to bang on the metal doors of the lift but to no avail, nobody could hear us.”
To make matters worse, the emergency bell was “so antiquated” that the person on the other end could not hear what was being said, Mr Redshaw explained.
After an hour, firefighters were able to prize open the doors by about an inch and pass drinks and chocolate bars through.
The frightening ordeal came to an end at around 4pm when a lift engineer finally beat the traffic and was able to rescue the shoppers.
Mr Redshaw described the experience as “traumatic” and said that it has made him “very wary” moving forward.
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said, “Our Blackpool store manager is in contact with the customers involved and has explained how sorry we are for their experience.
“The lift remains closed while this incident is fully investigated.”
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