TOKYO – Tokyo Skytree tower reopened to visitors on Thursday after a three-day suspension caused by an elevator malfunction, its operator said.
Tobu Tower Skytree Co. had closed the 350-meter-high observation deck and other tourist facilities on the tower after 20 visitors were trapped in an elevator for more than five hours on Sunday.
According to the operator, a bundle of wires connecting the elevator and its control panel was damaged when the 634-meter broadcast tower swayed in the wind, causing the control panel’s fuses to blow.
The malfunction caused two of the four elevators connecting the commercial building at the base of the tower and the observation deck to stop.
The elevator carrying the 20 visitors stopped about 30 meters above the ground. Hours later, an adjacent elevator was positioned and a panel was placed between the two elevators so that passengers could be rescued through an emergency door. No one was injured.
The elevator in which the visitors were trapped is still undergoing inspection, according to the operator.
AloJapan.com