"An Unexpected Line on the Apartment Veranda..." A Desperate SOS from a Lone Elderly Person

Trapped on the 13th Floor for 18 Hours
Rescued After Sending a Desperate Signal with Tied Clothes

An elderly person living alone was trapped for 1 night and 2 days after the door locked while stepping out onto the veranda of a high-rise apartment in Seoul, but was safely rescued after sending desperate rescue signals by tying clothes together.

A man in his 70s, Mr. A, who was isolated on the veranda of an apartment near Dongnimmun Station in Jongno-gu, Seoul, was rescued by the police after sending a rescue signal by weaving a long piece of cloth. Photo by Jongno Police Station, Seoul.

Jongno Police Station announced on the 15th that Sergeant Yu Jae-il and Police Officer Kim Du-tae of the Gyonnam Police Substation rescued a woman in her 70s, Ms. A, who was trapped on the veranda of an apartment near Dongnimmun Station in Jongno-gu around 10 a.m. on the 12th. According to the police, Ms. A went out to the veranda around 4 p.m. the previous day to water the flowerpots but got trapped when the door locked.

Ms. A’s home is on the 13th floor, a high floor, and the road in front of the apartment has heavy vehicle traffic, so the noise from the road prevented her calls for help from being heard. As a result, Ms. A was isolated on the veranda for about 18 hours without being able to move. It even snowed early on the 12th, creating a situation where hypothermia could have endangered her life.

Exhausted, Ms. A came up with a desperate plan: she tied together a bundle of cloths and clothes that had been piled up on one side of the veranda to make a long rope and hung it out of the veranda. Fortunately, this desperate 'rescue signal' caught the eyes of Sergeant Yu and Officer Kim, who were patrolling nearby.

While patrolling near Dongnimmun Station at the time, the two noticed a long piece of cloth hanging from the veranda in the apartment complex and instinctively sensed that 'something was wrong,' so they moved to the apartment. The two officers confirmed the situation inside the veranda where Ms. A was trapped and her condition through the upper-floor neighbors on the same floor, then obtained the front door password and quickly entered the house. Ms. A, trembling from cold and fear, was safely rescued and handed over to her guardian.

A police official stated about Sergeant Yu and Officer Kim, "They did not miss the rescue signal that could have been easily overlooked and made a quick judgment to save a life."