A resident's feet were jammed in an elevator shaft after its cabin suddenly ascended without warning.

The hapless man was stepping into the elevator, but tripped when it began rising to the upper floors of a building in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, on June 17.

In a horror movie-like sequence, he struggled to stand back up, but his feet was painfully wedged in the tiny gap between the entrance and the shaft.

Firefighters from the Jalan Perak Fire and Rescue Station said the incident happened at 11:43 local time. They said the man was trapped 'between the ground floor and level 1' of the building.

Using their tools, they forced open the elevator doors and safely hoisted the victim back up.

His feet appeared to be wounded and bruised from the constriction, but he did not have any broken legs.

The resident is now recovering from his injuries in a hospital.