Crews maintained communication with the trapped individual by phone
A 23-year-old customer had to spend nearly 10 hours inside a giant vault in Manhattan's Diamond District. The customer got trapped inside the building at 580 Fifth Avenue around 7 p.m. and was finally freed around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, as reported by ABC News.
It was reported that the customer was inside the security vault to access their safety deposit box when they got stuck.
According to official reports, employees inside the building closed the vault without knowing the customer was still inside. It was a time-mechanism vault, meaning it operated with a time clock, and the door could not be opened until it reached a certain time.
"There was a customer inside the vault at the time that it closed. Once it's closed, it's on a timing mechanism. That vault does not reopen until a certain amount of time passes," FDNY Chief John Sarrocco told ABC News.
FDNY and NYPD personnel spent nearly 10 hours breaking into the vault, as the police informed the New York Post.
Mr. Sarrocco revealed that they had to break through about 30 inches of concrete down to the metal plating of the vault.
Crews maintained communication with the trapped individual by phone and were able to see him on camera.
Then, "the vault opened on its own - it's on a timing mechanism - and he was just released from the vault," Mr. Sarrocco said.
The vault opened automatically, and the customer was finally released.
According to the DGA Securities website, the vault offers "the security, services, and tools you need to conduct business in today's Diamond District."
"The vault is protected by DGA's network of security and surveillance systems, monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," it says.
"Providing unparalleled protection along with impeccable office amenities, this is your one place to have it all."