Earphones help woman escape elevatorBy Hsu Kuo-chen and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerA woman trapped in an elevator of a newly purchased residence in Taichung’s Longjing District (龍井) was able to use her wireless earphones’ built-in functions to call emergency services last month. A woman surnamed Hsu (許) was going downstairs on Jan. 21 when the elevator made a weird noise and became stuck between floors three and four, according to the Wurih Precinct’s Longjing Police Station. Photo: Screen grab from the precinct’ s Facebook pageHsu then realized she was still wearing her wireless earphones and used her phone’s digital assistant function to contact emergency services, police said. Wurih Precinct captain Hsieh Po-hsien (謝博賢) said that people trapped in an elevator should not panic, not force open the elevator doors and calmly contact emergency services, as the risk of asphyxiation is minimal. Trying to open the doors and escape on one’s own could end in injury or a fall down the elevator shaft, he said.

Source: Taipei Times January 25, 2026 18:45 UTC