Chargers Players, Staff Had To Be Rescued From Hotel Elevator In Dallas

Dallas Fire-Rescue crews rescued 15 people in the Los Angeles Chargers traveling party — both players and personnel — who were trapped in an elevator at The Westin hotel in Downtown Dallas on Friday night.

In town for their final preseason game against Cowboys on Saturday, the Chargers confirmed in a social media post that members of the team were stranded in an inoperable elevator in the team's hotel. 

"Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to the incident and subsequently assisted everyone from the elevator, one-by-one, through its ceiling panel and into an adjacent elevator," the statement read. "The Lost Angeles Chargers thank Dallas Fire-Rescue for their quick response, professionalism and substantial efforts in ensuring everyone's safety."

DFR said crews responded at around 7:44 p.m. to reports of an elevator emergency. According to officials, an elevator technician made efforts to try and get the elevator working, but to no avail. So DFR deployed its Urban Search and Rescue team to the scene, and the responding emergency personnel found that the elevator was stuck in a "blind shaft" somewhere between the third and 15th floors of the hotel. That's when they had to pull everyone to safety through a ceiling panel.

A source told ESPN's Kris Rhim that Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh invited all the DFR staff to the team meal room to eat afterward.

While the team hasn't confirmed which players and staff were involved in the ordeal, 15 people does sound like a lot for one elevator — especially if at least some of those 15 were large football players.

The Chargers and Cowboys are set to kickoff their preseason finale at AT&T Stadium at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday. Assuming, of course, everyone makes it off the elevator.