A cleaner trapped in a broken lift reportedly drank her own urine to survive her two day ordeal.
The unnamed woman, in her 50s, was reported missing to police by her family on Sunday after she had not been seen since Friday afternoon.
While carrying out inquiries, officers found the woman trapped in a lift in the Margate Adult Education Centre in Hawley Square.
They were able to manually force the lift open and free the woman, who was taken to hospital.
A relative of the woman told Kent Live she had sustained bruising in her attempts to escape and had been forced to drink her own urine in a bid stay hydrated.
A spokesman for Kent County Council said cleaning and maintenance of the building is managed by Kier Facilities Management.
He added: “KCC and Kier have launched an immediate investigation into the events which is currently progressing; we are unable to comment further until the investigation is complete. We are assured that Kier is providing support to the individual for what must have been a stressful ordeal.
“The council will be working with Kier to ensure that the person concerned continues to be supported and any lessons are learnt from the incident.”
The Health and Safety Executive has been made aware of the incident and is making initial enquiries. A spokesman said: “It’s too early to say there will be an investigation.”