40 Hours In An Elevator
Thousands of people use the elevators at the McGraw-Hill building every day without incident, but when an elevator door closed late Friday night, it was the start of a horrible ordeal one employee could not have foreseen, reports Correspondent Lou Young of CBS station WCBS-TV.
The nightmare began at about 11 p.m. ET Friday, while Business Week production supervisor Nicholas White was working late, and decided to take a cigarette break.
The elevator got stuck between floors of the 51-story Rockefeller Center skyscraper, with White inside. He kept calling for help, but no one answered. He said the elevator is equipped with both an emergency alarm button and a surveillance camera.
Nick White told CBS News that he became terrified when his calls for help went unanswered.
He also banged on walls, pushed every button and tried to escape through the elevator ceiling.
 Elevator Fears? |
Building management blames a power voltage dip lasting one-tenth of a second that held the elevator stationary just above the 13th floor.
Rockefeller Center officials were still trying to figure out how White could have remained unnoticed for so long.
©1999 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report