A woman survived unscathed after being blocked in a lift for 27 hours by drinking wine, Italian media report.

The 50-year-old woman of Padova was taking the wine to the basement when the lift malfunctioned and stopped.

Without a mobile phone, at first she tried to raise the alarm by shouting, but no-one heard her. Attempts to open the lift from the inside were unsuccessful.

The minutes turned into hours and the woman had no other option but to wait. She managed to open some of the bottles she was carrying, drinking the wine which, Italian media, helped her to survive. She did not have a bottle opener with her, so she broke the necks of the bottles to be able to drink, careful so as not to swallow any glass pieces.

The woman was rescued after an ordeal lasting 27 hours. Her daughter, preoccupied that her mother was not answering the phone, went to check if anything was wrong, finding the poor woman blocked in the lift.

The civil protection department was called for assistance, liberating the woman.