Watch: Customer gets locked in New York vault for over 10 hours
Oct. 25 (UPI) -- A customer accessing his safety deposit box at a New York business ended up locked in a vault for more than 10 hours.
The New York Fire Department said the man was in the vault in the basement of World Diamond Tower when employees who were unaware of his presence closed the door.
The vault is owned by DGA Security and is used by several Diamond District businesses.
Firefighters were called to the scene and were able to communicate with the man via security cameras and a phone system.
They determined the vault was on a timer lock and couldn't be opened by employees.
Firefighters attempted to cut through a concrete wall to get into the vault, but stopped when they reached metal plating because they feared further efforts would put the man at risk of injury.
They decided to wait for the timer, as the man was not in danger of running out of oxygen.
The customer was finally freed when the time lock opened at 6:15 a.m. Wednesday.
The man was examined by EMS at the scene before being sent home.
