Just about a month ago, the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, opened amidst much fanfare in Dubai. Last weekend however, the majestic building suffered a major setback, which has forced an indefinite shut down.

The nightmare began on the evening of February 6th. Fifteen people were in the elevator on their way down from the tower's observation deck situated on the 124th floor. Suddenly, the lights went out and the elevator began to plunge - think California Adventure's 'Tower of Terror', magnified many times. However, the shrieks heard here were those from sheer terror!

Luckily, the emergency brakes kicked in and it stopped - smack in the middle of two floors! In order to rescue the people, workers had to drop a ladder inside the elevator shaft, and assist them in climbing out - an effort that took an additional 45 minutes. While the nightmare was over for them, it was just beginning for the 60 people who were still on the observation deck.

Their saga started when the elevator first crashed - They heard a loud boom and then saw smoke emerging from the elevator door. While they knew something was very wrong, they did not hear from the building officials for what seemed like a long time.

Finally, some officials came up and informed them about a 'small' problem with the visitor elevator, and guided them to the freight elevator. Given the situation, most would have rather opted to walk down the 124 stories! Luckily, there were no further mishaps, and they all emerged safe and sound.

Now the Burj remains closed, with officials revealing very few details about what went wrong and how long it will take to fix!

source: Dailymail.co.uk