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Three men in Singapore found themselves in a tight spot while making their way to a cafe in the Bukit Batok industrial area on Jan. 3.
While taking a cargo lift up to the cafe, the three men got stuck for over 30 minutes.
They eventually had to be rescued by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and building management.
Cafe located in industrial building
The three men, all aged 23, were planning to visit Coexist Coffee Co., a relatively new cafe located on the eighth floor rooftop of an industrial building.
One of them told Mothership that even though a passenger lift was available, they decided to take the cargo lift next to it "out of fun".
They had also observed a couple with a stroller exiting the cargo lift shortly before.
The entrance to Hillview Building, the industrial building where the cafe is located. Photo via Google Maps.
Lift gets stuck
They pressed the lift button for the seventh floor, as the eighth floor and the cafe was only accessible by a flight of stairs from the seventh floor.
The lift moved off but suddenly stopped at what they believed to be the second floor.
Expecting the doors to open, they waited in vain for a while before realising that the lift was stuck.
Once it dawned on the three men that they were legitimately stuck in the lift, one of them started panicking.
One of the other men, evidently more calm about the situation, instructed the others to start looking for any contact information in the lift, as well as to ring the lift alarm.
They also tried pressing random buttons in the lift in hopes of getting the lift to move again.
Tried calling cafe and building management
The metal box that the men found themselves trapped in also did not afford them good cell service -- only one of them was able to make calls.
The men attempted calling the cafe and building management, but could not get through to them.
With almost all options exhausted and a cafe lunch waiting for them, the men decided to enlist the help of the SCDF, and called 995.
While waiting for help to arrive, the men kept themselves entertained by taking videos and selfies while stuck in the lift.
Photo via Mothership reader.
They also played some childhood games:
via Mothership reader.
Eventually rescued
They finally got a response from SCDF officers outside telling them to stay calm and that they had managed to open the first layer of doors from the outside.
A lift technician was also called in to assist.
Eventually, the men were rescued and were greeted by the building manager who asked about their well-being.
The men also went back downstairs to inform the SCDF and police officers that they were alright.
After the ordeal, the men headed back upstairs (using the passenger lift this time) for their very well-deserved cafe lunch.
As they left the cafe, they noticed that the cargo lift was back and running, but they dared not take it.
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Top photos via Mothership reader, Cassie/Google Maps, James Tai/Google Maps