Elevator trouble shuts Dubai tower

Shortly after the drama unfolded on Saturday evening, the half-mile-high Burj Khalifa that was supposed to be one of Dubai’s proudest achievements was shut down to the public, just a month after its opening. It was the latest embarrassment for the once-booming Gulf city-state that is now mired in a financial crisis.

Witnesses who were on the 124th-floor observation deck at the time and a Dubai rescue official recounted the chain of events that led up to the shutdown in interviews.

Emaar Properties, the state-linked company that owns Burj Khalifa, has said little about the incident and nothing about an elevator malfunction. It had no comment yesterday.

It remains unclear what caused the elevator to the observation deck - the only part of the building that was open - to fail.

Michael Timms, 31, an American telecommunications engineer who lives in Dubai, was on the observation deck with his cousin Michele Moscato when the ordeal began.

“It almost sounded like a small explosion. It was a really loud bang,’’ Timms said.

Abu Naseer, a spokesman for Dubai’s civil defense department, said the call for help came in around 6:20 p.m. Saturday.

Emergency crews used another elevator to reach the observation deck and rescued all 15 people in the elevator, he said.

The incident was the latest to tarnish the international reputation of Dubai, one of seven small sheikdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates.

In recent years, Dubai boomed on borrowed wealth that went into extravagant real estate projects such as islands shaped like palm trees and rows of striking new skyscrapers.

Then the financial crisis hit and real estate prices plunged. The government and many state-run companies struggled to pay their bills. Abu Dhabi, Dubai’s oil-rich neighbor, provided $20 billion in bailout funds to rescue Dubai.

Emaar has not responded to specific questions about the incident that led to the shutdown or made anyone available to speak despite repeated requests.

Local newspapers reported the shutdown on Monday but it was still not clear exactly when the building was closed.