CFD RESCUES SIX TRAPPED IN JOHN HANCOCK ELEVATOR IN CHICAGO

Members of the Chicago Fire Department (CFD) performed a dramatic rescue of six passengers trapped in an elevator that had fallen more than 80 floors in the former John Hancock Center in downtown Chicago on November 16, various news outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, report. Attributed to a snapped cable, the incident happened shortly after midnight, when the passengers, who were leaving The Signature Lounge on the 96th floor, say the elevator began descending faster than anticipated, then stopped. One of them pressed the emergency-call button, and firefighters responded approximately 45 min. later. Because the elevator was in a “blind shaft” with no openings, firefighters used the building’s electronic system to get a rough idea of where the elevator was, then drilled a small hole in a wall near the 11th-floor parking garage into which they inserted a tiny flexible camera to determine the precise location. Once that was done, they cut a hole in a wall, braced the unit and helped passengers exit using a ladder at approximately 3 a.m. A city spokesman said the unit was last inspected in July. An investigation is ongoing as to how and why the cable failed.