02/23/2026, 09:2702/23/2026, 09:27
Nightmare at the world’s highest television tower: 20 visitors to the 634 meter high Tokyo Skytree in Japan’s capital were stuck in an elevator for hours. For those affected, including two children who were stuck at a height of 30 meters, the trip was an extreme test of patience. They waited in the elevator for more than five hours until they were freed in the middle of the night around 2 a.m. (local time), as the Japanese television station NHK reported. Nobody was injured.
The Tokyo Skytree is more than 600 meters high.Image: keystone
For an initially unknown reason, the elevator suddenly stopped on the way from the viewing platform of the television tower, which is at a dizzying height of 350 meters. Police officers and other helpers rushed to the scene and contacted those trapped by telephone while they sought a solution.
Rescue via metal bridge
The nighttime rescue operation was like a crime thriller. First, an adjacent elevator could be lowered to the same height as the elevator. The emergency exits of both elevators were then opened and a metal bridge with handrails was installed between the two elevators, which were just over a meter apart. The trapped people were finally brought to safety via this, NHK reported.
The Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo’s ultra-modern landmark, opened in 2012. It is also one of the most popular attractions in the Japanese capital for foreign tourists. It is the third tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur. The fact that such a tower was built in Japan, which is highly prone to earthquakes, and had survived the severe quake on March 11, 2011, was a “significant message to the world,” a minister said triumphantly at the time. (dab/sda/dpa)