Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Shashi Tharoor on Friday got stuck in the lift of a hotel en route to an event in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
The incident took place after he took a lift to the sixth floor of the Prasanth Hotel at the PMG Junction in Thiruvananthapuram, in order to attend an event.
Tharoor was scheduled to attend the installation ceremony of the Rotary Club of Trivandrum East, when he got stuck in the lift.
This brought the hotel staff to the scene, who tried their best to help him, but could not do so.
They then called for help, after which Fire and Rescue Services personnel were rushed to the spot. Videos of the rescue show them using a hydraulic spreader to force open the lift door, safely rescuing him.
A hydraulic spreader, often nicknamed the 'Jaws of Life', has two arms that meet at a narrow point, which help it fit into narrow spaces.
It then uses pressurised hydraulic fluid to generate enough force to pry things apart or tear through things, which is why it is often used in search and rescue operations.
Indeed, it took just seconds for the fire force personnel to pry open the lift doors, revealing Tharoor crouching on the floor of the lift as the 30-minute ordeal came to an end.
"Everyone is okay. The hotel staff came first. They couldn't do anything. Only then did we feel like calling the fire force. They were the ones who saved us. The fire force arrived within five minutes of the call, and I thank them," Tharoor told reporters and fire force personnel at the scene, as per a Manorama Online report.
