Germany: 90-year-old trapped in church, saved by the bell

Police rescued a 90-year-old man on Sunday morning from a protestant church in Apolda, in the central German state of Thuringia, after the man rang church bells around 3 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) as a call for help.

The man is a resident of a local nursing home. He was scheduled to visit an event at the local Lutheran church on Saturday evening. After he failed to check in at the home at 8:30 p.m., however, the nursing home employees reported him as missing.

They described him as "extremely [mentally] reliable and focused," according to a police statement.

Police launched a search involving six patrol cars in the vicinity of the church and the usual hangout spots for nursing home residents. However, they were not able to locate the missing man.

Church bells ring overnight

But a police officer on duty overnight was alerted by the sound of church bells at 3:15 a.m., prompting him to send a patrol to the church.

The Apolda Lutheran church, like many other churches in the modern day, uses automated systems rather than traditional human bell-ringers to sound off the bells.

The officers at the scene managed to get in touch with the man inside and talked to him through the door. Eventually, the pastor was called in to unlock the church and free the trapped man.

According to the police, the man said he attended the church event as planned and then found himself trapped in the church after it was locked. After a long search, he managed to find the device that controls the bells and activate it.

Police said they transported the senior citizen back to the nursing home "safe and sound" following his ordeal.

dj/ab (EPD, dpa)

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.