Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 15 (IANS): A 59-year-old man named Ravindran Nair was rescued on Monday after being trapped inside an elevator at the Government Medical College here for 36 hours.

Nair went to the hospital with a sore back on Saturday, where he was told by the doctor to come back with his medical records.

He returned with the documents around noon and instead of taking the stairs, he entered the lift.

“The lift first went up and then came down and that was it. I tried calling the reception from the telephone placed in the lift numerous times, but no one answered my calls. I kept on pressing the alarm button but there was no response. Since my cellphone got damaged after it fell on the ground when the lift came to an abrupt halt, I could not call anyone for help. I kept on banging on the door, but no one responded,” Nair said.

Meanwhile, Nair's family members approached the police and filed a missing complaint.

Nair's ordeal finally came to an end on Monday morning, more than 36 hours after he entered the lift, when the operator came and opened the door of the elevator.

Taking serious note of the matter, state Health Minister Veena George has directed the concerned officials to submit a detailed report of the incident.

As per sources, Nair’s family members are planning to take legal steps against the hospital authorities for his harrowing ordeal.