Australian rescued after getting his head stuck in lift in ‘very vulnerable’ position

‘If the lift didn’t stop where it did, this patient’s injuries would probably have been fatal’

Firefighters had to turn off the electricity before opening the doors to rescue the lift technician (Fire and Rescue NSW)

A worker in Sydney was rescued after he was found in a “very vulnerable” position with his head stuck in a lift.

Firefighters were called to the Walton Crescent apartment block, a small residential complex in Abbotsford in Sydney’s Inner West, at 12.15pm on Wednesday, said New South Wales’s fire department Fire and Rescue NSW in a statement.

When officials arrived, they found the lift technician “with his head stuck between the lift carriage and the lift shaft,” it added.

The unnamed man could have died had help not arrived on time, NSW ambulance inspector Lucky Phrachanh told reporters on Wednesday.

The man was in a “very vulnerable position, with his head trapped in the lift cavity,” Mr Phrachanh was quoted as saying by local media.

“If the lift didn’t stop where it did, this patient’s injuries would probably have been fatal,” he explained.

The electricity was turned off before rescuers got to work.

Fire and Rescue NSW said their crews “quickly secured the lift with acrow props and isolated the electricity before opening the doors”.

“This was to ensure the lift carriage could not fall any further and injure the man,” the state government agency explained.

The man was taken to a hospital for observation, 9News reported after he was rescued.

Fire and Rescue NSW said this was a “timely reminder that calling Triple Zero (000) for an emergency can be the difference between life and death”.