DC Commuters Used This Vent Shaft To Escape A Broken Down Metro

On January 30, a series of malfunctions and miscommunications in Washington, D.C.'s metro system left hundreds of passengers stranded in dark, stopped trains for more than an hour.

Some passengers "self-evacuated" and got off the trains, according to Transportation Nation, delaying the restoration of power and service for fear of what a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority report deemed a "life/safety hazard."

Those passengers were eventually escorted by an off-duty operator through the tunnel, which they exited via a vent shaft, into an open field near Anacostia station.

It must have been quite a surprise for anyone nearby: