Elevator Horror Sparked Tallest Building Shutdown

The mysterious sudden shutdown of the world's tallest building in Dubai this week occurred after panicky elevator passengers were stuck between floors for close to an hour, new reports have revealed. People on the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa tower heard a crash and breaking glass Sunday, and dust billowed up from the elevator shaft. Security guards told visitors that nothing was wrong, but officials shut the building soon after without explanation, the Times of London reports.

The Burj Khalifa elevators, the world's fastest at 25 mph, were supposed to be one of the key features of a building that is both one of Dubai's major tourist attractions and a symbol of its current financial woes. The 15 passengers trapped in the elevator were eventually rescued when building staff threw a ladder down to them. Observation deck passengers were evacuated via a service elevator. One visitor said the elevator breakdown sounded "like a small explosion." It's not known if anyone was injured. The building opened just last month.
(More Burj Khalifa stories.)