Updated 12.45pm: Overloading is being blamed for an incident which saw a large group of Wellington students trapped in a lift.

24 people had to be rescued after getting trapped in the lift at the new Katharine Jermyn University Hall last night.

Two students fainted during the ordeal and had to be given oxygen by Ambulance officers, but all are doing well this morning.

Victoria University director of Campus Services Jenny Bentley says all of the lifts were tested before the hall opened last week,and were checked again after the students got out last night.

She says overloading is believed to be the problem, and students will be given a reminder about the carrying capacity of the lifts.

The student hall only opened last week, billed as a new state-of-the-art student accommodation complex.

The hall can house 390 students, many of whom are set to move in this week.