by , 1:25 PM EDT, May 30th, 2006

A group of teenagers visiting the new Apple flagship store in New York City spent about 45 minutes longer at the store than they planned after the elevator doors malfunctioned. When the doors opened at street level, one person stepped out, and then the doors closed, trapping everyone else inside. The escapee, who goes by RaNeX on her blog, snapped a few photos and chronicled the incident for her friends.

Apple employees were able to drop water bottles in through a roof access panel while the shoppers waited for their rescue.

After officers from the New York Police Department arrived, the hydraulic lines for the elevator were slowly bled out so that the elevator would lower back to the main store level. Officers pried the doors open and helped the stranded shoppers out as the elevator continued a slow descent into the basement.

A couple of people did burn their hands on lights while climbing out of the elevator, but everyone else escaped unscathed.

The elevator is currently tagged as out of order, so you'll have to buy an iPod or MacBook if you aren't up to carrying a Power Mac G5 up the stairs.

Thanks to AppleInsider for pointing out the blog entry.