Customer freed after spending night trapped inside bank vault at World Diamond Tower in Manhattan

By ZINNIA MALDONADO

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    NEW YORK, NY (WCBS) — A customer spent the night trapped inside a bank vault in Midtown, Manhattan.

The vault opened automatically on a timer around 6:15 a.m. Wednesday, setting the man free after nearly 12 hours.

CBS New York has learned the vault is located in the basement of the World Diamond Tower at 580 Fifth Avenue.

The customer was accessing his safety deposit box when he became trapped inside shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday after employees closed the vault door, not knowing he was still inside.

FDNY officials said once the vault is closed, it cannot be reopened until the automatic timer unlocks in the morning. They added it’s a community vault owned by DGA Security and utilized by a number of Diamond District businesses.

When first responders arrived, they cut tried to cut through the vault’s concrete wall. Once they hit metal plating, they decided to wait until the vault would unlock.

“The problem with the plating is we’d have to use our torches on there, which would infect the environment of the person inside the vault,” said Chief of Department John Hodgens. “Some time this morning, around 6:15 this morning, the vault opened on its own, and the customer was released.”

Crews used a phone and cameras inside the vault to communicate with the man the entire time, making sure he was OK. He was later treated by EMS on the scene and released with no injuries.

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