The Los Angeles Chargers have announced that several of their players and staff were left stranded in an ‘inoperable elevator’ at the team’s hotel in Dallas on Friday.
Ahead of their preseason game against the Cowboys on Saturday, members of the Chargers’ traveling party were trapped in the elevator at around 7:30pm CT, a team statement says.
‘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 continues.
‘The Los Angeles Chargers thank Dallas Fire-Rescue for their quick response, professionalism and substantial efforts in ensuring everyone’s safety.’
According to Dallas Fire-Rescue, via local television network WFAA, crews responded to reports of an elevator emergency at The Westin Hotel in downtown Dallas.
LA Chargers players and staff were left stranded in an ‘inoperable elevator’ in Dallas on Friday
An elevator technician is then said to have attempted to get the elevator working, only for the DFR to deploy its Urban Search and Rescue team to the scene when those efforts proved unsuccessful.
It is believed the elevator was stuck in a ‘blind shaft’ between the third and 15th floors of the hotel, meaning players and staff had to climb through ceiling panels to get out of the elevator.
The Chargers did not confirm which specific members of the team were involved in the incident.
Jim Harbaugh’s men are set to line up against the Cowboys at 3pm CT on Saturday in their preseason finale at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium.
They then begin the NFL regular season when the Las Vegas Raiders visit SoFi Stadium on Sunday, September 8.
Harbaugh is gearing up for his first campaign as an NFL head coach since 2014 after joining the Chargers this term on the back of his successful college stint with Michigan.
Ahead of their preseason game against the Cowboys on Saturday, several members of the traveling Chargers party were trapped in an elevator at the Westin Hotel (pictured)
Jim Harbaugh’s team are set to play the Cowboys in their preseason finale this weekend
The 60-year-old previously went 44-19-1 in four seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before taking Michigan’s job in 2015, where he claimed a national championship in his final year at the helm in 2023.
Harbaugh, who spent 14 years as a quarterback in the NFL himself, is already making a serious impression on his Chargers players just a few months into his reign in LA.
Earlier this week safety Derwin James Jr. told reporters about their new head coach: ‘He’d really die on the football field and be happy. As crazy as that sounds, he’s that much in it.’
‘Every day you see it in his habits,’ James continued. ‘Every message is the same from every coach [on the staff]. It’s been amazing having him, and I’m pretty sure the more he coaches us, the more I’m going to learn and experience. I absolutely meant everything I said about that message.’