A newlywed couple was trapped in an elevator for two hours and missed their own wedding reception.
When the elevator they were riding in came to a complete stop between floors, Victoria and Panav Jha were on their way up to their reception, which was located on the 16th floor of the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Together with Victoria’s sister and three other wedding guests, they were in the elevator.
They initially thought it would only take a few seconds, but it turned into minutes and then hours before the neighbourhood fire department could save them.
However, their own party was already over.
Mr Jha told CNN: “We got up maybe five feet, and then boom, the doors kind of stuck.
“Then the doors started to open, so I could see the concrete wall right in front of me, and I could see the concrete wall behind me, and I was like, that’s not normal.”
When Charlotte Fire Department arrived, they decided the best place to start a winch operation from to free those trapped was on the fourth floor.
The visitors were then given harnesses, assisted through the elevator’s top hatch, and winched up.
Victoria’s sister was helped out first and immediately asked the fire fighters: “Please get my sister out next, she’s the one in the wedding dress.”
The fire department shared its congratulations on Facebook after the newlyweds posed for a photo with the firefighters.
