‘Panic’ as schoolies trapped in lift

TWENTY-eight Schoolies became trapped in an overcrowded Gold Coast elevator last night with some suffering dehydration after the frightening ordeal.

Emergency services rushed to the scene at the Crown Towers hotel in Surfers Paradise at 7pm with an ambulance spokesman saying the teens were 'panicked' and 'struggling to breathe'.

The terrified group was freed about an hour later, and were assessed by ambulance crews with some suffering dehydration.

However, while none of the school leavers required any medical treatment, they did learn a valuable lesson in obeying elevator weight limits.

It comes as 23,000 school leavers descended on the Gold Coast with six arrests overnight.