A woman who became stuck in a lift that climbed and plunged repeatedly for up to 40 minutes has told of her horror as she likened the experience to "something from a horror film".
More than a dozen people were left terrified after becoming trapped in a lift at St David's Shopping Centre in Cardiff on Saturday.
The lift travelled up and down "more than 25 times" during the ordeal, shoppers told WalesOnline.
One girl had a panic attack and was reduced to tears during the incident.
A spokeswoman for the shopping centre said the lift has been taken out of service.
Taris Chapman, 19, from Rhondda, who was trapped in the lift with her three friends, described the experience on Facebook.
“Just to warn others of how dangerous lifts can be. Myself, three of my friends and nine other people were in the lift in St David’s shopping centre this evening when it stopped working,” she wrote.
"This resulted into 40 minutes of the lift going to the top floor and just plunging us down seven floors with force whilst jolting.
"Not to mention, how frightening it was as we couldn’t get hold of the of the help line 10 minutes into the lift breaking.
"When we did manage to get hold of them, the speaker kept cutting off and due to no signal we couldn’t even get through to the emergency services. 20 minutes later, the Fire Brigade came and helped us get out.
"This was the most terrifying thing we have experienced and we want to warn others as it was very distressing and has happened there before.
"And it was nothing to do with the amount or people in the lift as there was half of us in there which was the limit and many people have said it was playing up throughout the day."
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Speaking to WalesOnline, Ms Chapman and her friends compared the incident to a scene from a horror film.
"It felt like there was no control over the lift," they added. "Everyone was screaming and panicking.
"It felt like the cord that holds the lift wasn't working properly."
Ms Chapman's friend Olivia Oldham had a panic attack and was crying and shaking throughout the ordeal, they said.
Megan Jones was also trapped in the lift during the incident, which she claimed "flew up and down" in a tweet.
She told the BBC she screamed in terror when the lift went from floor to floor.
She said: "It was a state of complete panic. I didn't think we would get out alive, especially when we couldn't get any mobile signal."
A spokeswoman for St David's said: "On Saturday evening at approximately 6.45pm, a lift within St David’s malfunctioned. Customers inside the lift were transported from floor to floor, and were unable to get out of the lift for approximately 20 minutes.
"The fire brigade provided assistance to enable customers to leave the lift. The lift has since been taken out of service while the need for repair work is assessed.
"We recognise that this was a distressing experience for those involved, and, in addition to the assistance we offered at the time of the incident, we will also be reaching out to the individuals involved to offer a gesture of goodwill."
The post added: "The fault is being investigated and the activity within the lift itself is captured on camera. Management will be in touch with those who would like to provide their details via the contact us form on our website."
A spokeswoman for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were called at 6.57pm on January 26 and we released 13 people from the lift with the lift keys."
The Standard has contacted the shopping centre for further comment.
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