A woman was in the hospital Tuesday after falling down an elevator shaft in Brooklyn.

Fire officials say Marguerite Kelly was waiting for the elevator with her son at a building on Pitkin Avenue in Brownsville when fell 20 feet down the shaft onto a pile of garbage.

The building houses a church on the ground floor and apartments above. Officials say Kelly, who is from the Bahamas, was in town for a religious retreat.

"We believe, that se didn't realize the elevator wasn't there and she walked into the shaft without the car being there," said FDNY Battalion Chief Edward Ferrier.

According to the Buildings Department, the building has received several violations for the elevator.