5 freed after being trapped for hours in stuck elevator in Union City

UNION CITY (WABC) -- Five people have been freed after being trapped for nearly three hours in a stuck elevator at a rail station in New Jersey Tuesday.

The incident happened around 11 a.m. on Bergenline Avenue and 48th Street, at the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station, in Union City.

After technicians couldn't restart the elevator and lower it manually, an NJ Transit officer was lowered into the elevator in a harness.

Three women and two children inside were taken out through a roof panel and into an adjacent elevator to then be brought up to street level.

No one was injured.

The elevator apparently became stuck because of some type of mechanical malfunction, and the fact that there are no floors in between the street and the platform made it difficult to rescue the people.

"It was just a mechanical failure on the elevator," said Captain Andrew Keelan of New Jersey Transit. "We have five people in the elevator, we're removing those people now, we have audio and visual contact with them."

The light rail runs underground at this location.

The elevator had a fan, but no air conditioning.

The North Hudson Regional Fire Department, Union City EMS and police, and New Jersey Transit Police ESU all responded.

The mayor of Union City expressed concern about how long it took to get everyone out.

"We believe New Jersey Transit never reached out for Union City police nor North Hudson Regional, which is protocol," said Mayor Brian Stack. "You have somebody stuck in an elevator, you have a dangerous situation, you have to notify the whole municipality and the regional fire department, it only makes sense."

NJ Transit says they followed their protocol, which is to notify their internal mechanic. The agency said it also called Union City police.

The Bergenline Avenue station will be closed for the next two days to repair the broken elevator and the one next to it where the panel was opened to get the people out.