Officials have said that an elderly Chicago couple found alive under piles of garbage in their two-room apartment may have been trapped there for as long as three weeks.

The Chicago Tribune has reported that the 75-year-old woman and her 76-year-old husband, who police described as hoarders, were discovered Monday during a forced-entry well-being check requested by a neighbor.

Police Lt. Dale Kingsley said that the residence "was packed from floor to ceiling."

The Tribune also said that fire personnel had to wear hazardous-materials suits to deal with the debris, as the odor was overpowering.

Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor said that no one had heard from the couple in three weeks.

The woman may have fallen through the trash first and become trapped. Her husband may have tried to help her and seemed to have become trapped as well.

The Tribune further said that the woman appeared to have suffered rat bites, and the couple was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

A nurse said that their conditions have improved.

A neighbor, Cleopatra Ingram, said, "I thought it was an abandoned building actually. Someone should have checked on them. You'd walk past and there was no one there at all." (With Inputs from Agencies)