US girl survives 35 feet fall down an elevator shaft

A 12-year-old US girl who plunged 35 feet into the elevator shaft of an apartment building has miraculously survived but sustained serious injuries.
The incident happened this week in the Manhattan neighbourhood of SoHo.
Fire Department officials said while it was not clear how the girl got into the shaft, she fell from the first-floor lobby to the elevator pit in the sub-basement.
The firefighters pried open the elevator doors, rolled the girl onto a backboard, then put her in a basket to take her to the first floor, Fire Department spokesman Khalid Baylor was quoted by the 'New York Times' as saying.

Baylor said the girl, whose name was not released, was taken to a hospital in serious condition.
It is not clear if the girl is a resident of the building, the report said.
The elevator apparently had been out of service at the time of the incident.