Metro (WMATA)

Woman rescued from Dupont Circle Metro elevator stuck 30 feet underground

D.C. Fire and EMS rescued a woman stuck 30 feet underground inside Dupont Circle's north entrance elevator Sunday morning

D.C. Fire and EMS rescued a woman stuck in Dupont Circle's north entrance elevator Sunday morning.

Emergency responders received a report of the incident just minutes before 9 a.m. and worked for almost an hour to free the woman from the elevator.

 Freighters rescue woman from DuPont Circle's north entrance elevator. Courtesy DC Fire and EMS

According to D.C. Fire and EMS, the elevator stopped at 30 feet below the surface.

According to the department, at least seven special operations responders operated a specialized tripod to rescue the woman.

"Special ops personnel using an Arizona Vortex device (tripod) and rope system placed the individual in a harness and lifted them to safety uninjured," D.C. Fire and EMS said.

Responders use Arizona Vortex device to rescue woman from elevator. Courtesy DC Fire and EM

Despite the distress, the rescued woman was not injured and didn't require medical attention.

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It was not initially clear on Sunday why the elevator stopped.

In a Tuesday update, Metro apologized and said the issue was caused by a partial power outage.

"We apologize for what the customer experienced the morning of July 23, at the Dupont Circle station," a Metro spokesperson said in an email. "A partial power outage affected the North Side Elevator, leaving one customer aboard the elevator when the power outage occurred. As a safety feature, the elevator is designed to stop during a power outage."

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