Elderly man trapped in cold, cramped room rescued after 20 hours

A SOS sign carved out on a black box by a 70-something man trapped inside an evacuation room on Dec. 1, 2023. (Incheon Metropolitan Police)

A septuagenarian was rescued after being trapped in a confined evacuation area within a high-rise apartment building in Incheon, South Korea's police authorities announced Tuesday.

According to the Korean National Police Agency's Facebook page, on Dec. 1 last year, the police broke through a fire door to rescue a man in his 70s who had been locked inside the evacuation room for 20 hours. The rescue operation was initiated in response to a neighbor's call reporting an SOS sign hanging on a rope outside the window.

Clad only in his underwear, the elderly man was shut in the room, measuring 6.6 square meters, on the 28th floor of an apartment residence, police officials said. The day's temperature in Incheon was recorded at minus 1.8 degrees Celsius.

Local police reports revealed that the man had entered the evacuation room for ventilation but became trapped due to a malfunctioning fire door. Despite not having a cellphone, the man made use of a black box and a box cutter to carve out the letters "SOS" and hung the box on a rope outside the window to signal for help.

"I almost died from the freezing cold,” the man said upon the police's arrival. However, he assured them that his health was stable and that he did not require additional medical assistance.

By No Kyung-min(minmin@heraldcorp.com)