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Tokyo Skytree Shuts After 20 Rescued From Stalled Elevator

The tower remains closed for a safety inspection pending a cause investigation.

Overview

  • The Winter elevator stopped about 30 meters above ground around 8:15 p.m. Sunday local time.
  • Fire crews aligned the Autumn car, bridged the emergency doors with a stainless-steel plate, and guided 20 passengers across a roughly 1.5-meter gap by about 2 a.m.
  • No injuries were reported among those trapped, according to the operator and police.
  • Two other elevators were paused for checks, temporarily leaving about 1,200 visitors on the 350-meter deck before they returned to ground by 11 p.m.
  • The operator will refund Monday reservations as investigators review why this outage lasted far longer than similar incidents in 2015 and 2017 and note the presence of onboard emergency supplies.