 CONT: When the passengers are being rescued as the crane that pulls  off the roof is wedged near the top of the elevator shaft, the  elevator is at floor 23. The roof access is at 53, so there are  about 30 floors of cable extended from the crane. But when crane and  elevator fall together, as seen inside the elevator shaft, they are  only about 15 floors apart, and the cable is only a little bit  slack.