Pattaya, Thailand – In a tense early-morning incident, rescue workers smashed the glass of a hotel elevator to free three people who had been trapped inside for nearly an hour, local authorities reported to The Pattaya News.
The drama happened at approximately 4:10 a.m. on December 26th, 2025, when Pattaya City Police Station received a report of people stuck in a lift at a hotel located in Soi Yensabai in South Pattaya. Police quickly coordinated with rescuers from the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Rescue Foundation, who rushed to the scene.
At the ground floor, responders found a transparent glass elevator containing three exhausted occupants: a Thai woman, a hotel security guard, and a foreign national. The trio appeared fatigued and were struggling to breathe after being confined for almost an hour.
Initial attempts to pry open the doors with tools took about 10 minutes but proved unsuccessful. As the trapped individuals showed signs of weakening and increasing respiratory distress, rescuers made the decisive call to use a fire extinguisher to break the elevator’s glass panels, creating an opening to extract them safely.
All three were pulled out unharmed amid sighs of relief from onlookers. Rescue personnel provided initial first aid before handing them over to hotel staff for further monitoring.
According to the hotel security guard, the incident began when the foreign guest arrived by taxi from a night out to his room but lacked cash to immediately pay the fare. The group, consisting of the foreigner, the security guard, the taxi driver, and a Thai woman entered the elevator together to retrieve money from the guest’s room upstairs.
The lift sounded an overload warning, causing the taxi driver to exit just as the doors closed. Moments later, the elevator malfunctioned and became stuck, with the doors refusing to reopen. Hotel staff attempted basic troubleshooting without success before alerting emergency services.
No serious injuries were reported. The hotel is currently investigating the cause of the elevator failure and plans to conduct thorough safety checks to prevent future occurrences.
