People trapped in a falling lift in the US city of Chicago thought they were going to die as they plummeted¹ 84 floors to the ground.

当从84层楼的高度突然坠落时，被困在美国芝加哥市一座下降的电梯里的人们都认为自己死定了。

Six people, including a pregnant woman, fell from the 95th to the 11th floor in a skyscraper² formerly³ known as the John Hancock Center early on Friday morning.

周五早上，包括一名孕妇在内的六个人，在一座前身为约翰·汉考克中心的摩天大楼中从第95层瞬降到了第11层。

They then texted friends who called the emergency services and they were freed after a three-hour ordeal⁴.

随后他们发短信给朋友，让他们给应急服务部打电话，最终在经过三个小时的磨难后被成功救出。

It is believed at least one cable holding the cabin broke.

据信，该电梯至少有一根电缆断掉了。

Jaime Montemayor, 50, who was in the lift with his wife, said he initially⁵ felt it going down normally -- and then falling.

50岁的杰米·蒙泰梅尔和他的妻子当时在电梯里，他表示自己最初觉得电梯是在正常下降的，但随后却急速下降。

There was a sudden "clack clack clack" noise and dust began seeping⁶ into the cabin.

当时有一阵突然发出的“咔哒咔哒”的声音，灰尘也开始渗入电梯间。

Those aboard screamed, prayed and cried, reports said.

报道称，电梯里的人们随即尖叫、祈祷和哭泣。

"I believed we were going to die," Mr Montemayor, who was visiting from Mexico, said.

来自墨西哥的蒙提马约尔先生说道：“我以为我们会死。”

Firefighters arrived to rescue those trapped by making an opening in a concrete wall.

消防队员到达后，撬开了混凝土墙，把被困者营救了出来。

It is still unclear how the lift came to a halt without hitting the ground. ABC TV quotes fire officials as saying two cables snapped but there were many others still attached.

目前还不清楚该电梯为何没有撞到地面，而是在中途停了下来。美国广播公司电视台引用消防官员的话称，有两根电缆断了，但另外许多根电缆仍然连接着。