Lift in world's tallest building strands 15 people after 'crash from the shaft' is heard

Passengers were left stranded between floors in the Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai after a lift broke as they were descending, the Times reported today.

Burj Khalifa

The paper said 15 passengers inside the lift were left stranded for 45 minutes just below the 124th floor of the world's tallest building before they were rescued by staff who dropped a ladder into the shaft.

The report said visitors queueing to descend from the observation deck of the 828-metre tower saw dust billow back into the room through gaps in the lift doors after hearing a crash from the shaft.

It said a second lift also stopped but passengers were eventually able to return to the observation deck. The Burj was closed on Sunday after the incident with the Times claiming public access to the observation deck has been halted indefinitely.