Bizarre rescue after man locks himself in his own trunk

A bizarre chain of events was set off when a man found himself locked inside the trunk of his own car after pressing the wrong button in eastern China's Jiangsu Province.

With his phone and keys out of reach in the front seat, he used the voice assistant to call the police as temperatures neared 40 degrees Celsius in Dafeng District, Yancheng City, on August 18, according to a report in the Science and Technology Daily on Monday.

Police scrambled after the 5:13 p.m. emergency call and stayed on the line with him. Locating him wasn't straightforward. The officer blared the siren and tracked the changing volume through the phone until he pinpointed the car.

The new-energy motor had died. Inside, the trunk was baking and the man was wedged between the rear seats and the trunk compartment, unable to move. 

The policeman called in firefighters after failing to free the trapped driver on his own. After more than an hour of effort, he was finally out of the trunk, where he had spent five hours. 

The horror started when he reached into the trunk and his foot accidentally hit an electric button, slamming the lid shut and locking him in. 

Quick tip: Most trunks have an emergency release. Look for a small cover near the latch, pull the cord or press the button to open it from the inside.

Trunks have next to no ventilation. Staying in one too long risks oxygen deprivation, dizziness – even death. If you get stuck, stay calm, breathe steady, call for help and wait.