Seven University of Batangas Students Rescued After Being Stuck in Campus Elevator for Hours
Seven college students were rescued after they got trapped inside an elevator at the University of Batangas Main Campus in Batangas City on Tuesday (November 3, 2026).
According to a report by ABS-CBN News, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) Calabarzon said personnel from the Batangas City Fire Station, together with the Philippine Red Cross and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), responded after receiving an emergency call at around 6:26 p.m.
The rescuers completed the extrication operation at around 7:11 p.m. The seven students, who are 19 and 20 years old, were immediately brought to the school clinic for a medical check-up and were reported to be in stable condition.
Based on a report by the university publication The Westernian Advocate, the students had been stuck since around 4 p.m., or for about three hours, after the elevator allegedly malfunctioned while going down.
Abante TNT reported that the Special Rescue Force of the Batangas City Fire Station led the operation at the campus in Hilltop, Barangay Kumintang Ibaba. The students were able to get out through a narrow opening at the elevator’s emergency exit, with help from university personnel, the CDRRMO and the Philippine Red Cross-Batangas Chapter.
It turned out that the elevator was reportedly still undergoing commissioning and testing. A notice was reportedly posted warning that it was not yet recommended for public use, but the students believed it was already safe because it appeared to be working.
The BFP Calabarzon has yet to disclose the cause of the incident, while the University of Batangas had not yet issued a statement as of the ABS-CBN report.
Meanwhile, the university’s Security and Safety Department is investigating the incident to determine what exactly happened.
