Moment woman who spent 3 days trapped behind basement wall is rescued

22 February 2024 , 13:32

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Moment woman who spent 3 days trapped behind basement wall is rescued

A young woman spent three days trapped in a narrow gap behind a basement wall before finally being freed by rescuers after her cried for help were heard.

The bizarre incident took place in the Russian resort city of Sochi, with local media reporting that the 22-year-old fell between a narrow gap between the walls of the building although it was not clear how many floors she fell to end up behind the cellar wall. She ended up trapped there in the dark and damp space which the authorities described as a "dungeon".

She told her rescuers she had been screaming for help for three days before someone finally heard her and she was rescued. The footage shows the rescuers making a hole in the basement wall with a drill and reaching the distressed young woman.

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry issued a statement dated 19th February saying: "A 22-year-old girl spent three days in a dungeon. It all happened in a four-storey building in Sochi. A local resident heard a woman’s cries for help behind the wall and went down to the basement of the house. As it turned out, the victim fell from the attic and ended up between two walls in the house. To get to her, employees of the Southern Regional Search and Rescue Team of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry had to dismantle part of the brickwork. Rescuers handed the girl over to doctors."

Employees of Russian Emergency Situations Ministry rescue a woman who fell from the attic (Newsflash)

She told her rescuers she had called for help for three days before someone finally heard her (Newsflash)

Incidents like this are rare, but over a decade ago an Oregon woman was rescued after she fell and became stuck in a narrow opening between two buildings. Portland firefighters cut a hole through concrete and used an air bag and a soapy lubricant to free Anita Mann, who spent about four hours in a space just eight to 10 inches wide.

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TV news stations broadcast footage of the rescue operation and showed her emerging as she shouted: "Oh, my God." It was not clear how she became trapped in the spot but Lieutenant Rich Chatman of the Portland Fire Department said she had been seen smoking or walking on the roof of a two-story building when she fell between 10 and 12 feet.

She was wedged about four feet above the ground before rescuers installed braces to support her. Firefighters turned on a portable heater to keep her warm in the near-freezing temperatures while they dropped an airbag into the opening to create more space. Rich said: "It was so tight, it wasn't until the last foot that she could actually see me," he said. "She had that look in her eye that she was coming out no matter what."

Rachel Hagan