14 Jul 2017

Man trapped in ATM slips help notes to customers

9:16 am on 14 July 2017

A Texas man who found himself trapped inside a cash machine slipped notes asking for help through the receipt slot.

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The man was trapped at a drive-thru ATM similar to this one in Florida. Photo: 123rf

Police in Corpus Christi in the US said the man who was working on a renovation of the bank had left his phone in his vehicle before getting stuck in the drive-thru ATM's vault.

The unnamed workman was freed after shouting to ATM users, who continued withdrawing cash throughout his ordeal on Wednesday (local time).

He spent more than two hours locked inside the Bank of America machine.

One handwritten note slipped by the trapped man to a customer said: "Please Help. I'm stuck in here, and I don't have my phone. Please call my boss." The message included the employer's phone number.

The police themselves thought it was a hoax before kicking in a door to rescue him.

"Sure enough, we can hear a little voice coming from the machine, so we're all thinking this is a joke, it's gotta be a joke," police officer Richard Olden said.

"Everyone is okay, but you will never see this in your life, that somebody was stuck in the ATM, it was just crazy."

- BBC