Man narrowly avoids being chopped in half by lift as the device shoots upwards leaving him trapped upside down

A lift repairman is lucky to be alive after he was nearly cut in half during a freak accident at work.

The worker was installing a lift in a residential tower when an operational error caused the lift car to shoot upwards, lodging his body between the narrow gap.

With blood pouring from him, the man was left hanging upside down from the narrow lift doors, his legs and torso trapped between the car and the lift shaft.

Paramedics on site said the man lost consciousness while being treated.

This was likely because he was hanging upside down for an extended period of time - but also because his lower body had been crushed by the device.

The man had a drip in his hand as he was finally released by firefighters, who used hydraulic tools to expand the metal structure and create enough of a gap for him to be lifted out.

He was put on a stretcher and taken to hospital in the city of Chongqing in south west China.

The workman was still receiving treatment at the time of the report, but he is expected to survive his injuries.