Tokyo: A terrifying incident occurred at the Tokyo Skytree, Japan's tallest tower, when a passenger elevator malfunctioned and suddenly stopped while descending from the observation deck on the evening of February 22nd. This left 20 people (including 2 children) trapped inside the elevator at a height of approximately 30 meters above the ground. Over 1,200 other tourists on the observation deck were also temporarily stranded, before being safely evacuated via another elevator by 11:00 PM the same day.

According to Thai News Agency, Tokyo police and firefighters rushed to control the situation and rescue the 20 trapped passengers. Initial attempts to move the elevator were unsuccessful, so they decided to bring a neighboring elevator to the same height, then opened the emergency doors and placed a metal bridge between the two elevators to allow passengers to cross safely. The rescue operation continued for over 5.5 hours until all passengers were successfully evacuated at approximately 2:00 AM on February 23rd. Fortunately, there were no reports of injuries or illnesses.

Following the incident, Tokyo Skytree's public relations department issued an official apology and announced the temporary closure of the observation deck on February 23rd to allow engineers to thoroughly investigate the cause of the malfunction and the operation of all elevators for maximum safety. Affected tourists can obtain refunds at the counters on the 1st and 4th floors. The reopening date from February 24th onwards will be announced on the tower's website later this evening.