Staten Island construction workers rescued from elevator shaft

Two Staten Island construction workers had a close call yesterday amid record rain fall when they got caught in a flooded elevator shaft, the New York Post reported.

The two men were working at the Staten Island Hotel at 1415 Richmond Avenue, which is currently being converted into a home for seniors, when they took the elevator down to the basement. When they got to the lower floor, it was flooded and a sudden gush of water deactivated the elevator’s electronics, trapping the men inside.

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When firefighters got there, the entire shaft was submerged in water.

“They were happy to see us,” Capt. James Melvin of Ladder Co. 86 said of the men. “They were in there for about an hour, and they didn’t know what was going to happen.” [Post]