World's Tallest Tower Closed

Just one month after opening, Dubai's Burj Tower, the tallest viewing tower in the world, has closed.

It was closed to the public a week ago, without any explanation. It turns out that 15 people were trapped in one of the elevators for 45 minutes after they heard what sounded like a small explosion and then saw dust seeping through a crack in the elevator door, 1600 ft above the ground.

It took rescue crews 45 minutes to arrive and pry open the elevator doors. As the elevator was stuck between floors a ladder had to be put into the shaft to help the stranded people crawl out. No one was injured but I can imagine the mental state of some of them before getting to the ground. Some stranded in the elevator wanted to use the stairs to get down but were not allowed to do that. One person in the elevator said the lights went out and the elevator began to fall before the brakes kicked in.

Another 60 people were also stranded on the observation deck and some began to panic. The company that owns the Burj Tower has said little about the incident and nothing about an elevator malfunction.

The Burj is the tallest freestanding structure in the world at some 160 stories and the observation deck is some 2/3 of the way up.