Karlheinz Schmidt, a 68-year-old former elevator repairer survived on a packet of biscuits for three days while he was trapped in a broken hospital elevator in Berlin.

Schmidt showed up at the hospital for his routine medical appointment. While in the lift, he pressed the alarm button, but no one heard his calls for help. He slipped out of his wheelchair and remained on the floor as the lift went up and down.

Reuters quotes Schmidt telling the Daily Bild, "I was lying on the floor and the elevator went up and down for a bit. I pushed the alarm button several times, but nothing happened," he added, "I thought to myself ... 'Karlheinz, that's it. You're on your own now'."

The 68-year-old old was rescued on Monday, after his son began a search to find him. Rescue teams concentrated their search along a canal and the hospital surroundings.

Schmidt was discovered when a Berlin hospital nurse reported the broken elevator. He had grown weak and pale, as he only ate a packet a biscuits in the three-day period.