Calgary Tower reopens four months after elevator fell with people inside

CALGARY — One of Calgary’s most recognizable landmarks has reopened nearly four months after an elevator plunged several storeys with eight people inside.

Calgary Tower officials say issues with the structure’s elevators have been addressed and the lifts have passed inspection.

It took firefighters four hours to rescue the people trapped inside the elevator when a cable broke July 12 and the car stopped about 12 storeys up.

Rescuers using a harness pulled passengers out of the disabled lift and lowered them to the ground.

Patrons in the restaurant at the top of the tower walked down the stairs or were carried by firefighters.

No one was injured.

“We conducted a thorough and comprehensive inspection of the elevator system,” said Blaine Coupal of Thyssenkrupp Elevator Canada, the long-standing elevator service contractor for the Calgary Tower.

The website of Aspen Properties, owner of the tower, says 300,000 people visit the 190-metre-tall structure each year, paying for tickets, visiting the two restaurants and testing their courage on its glass floor.

The Calgary Tower was built to celebrate Canada’s centennial anniversary in 1967. It was completed in 1968.

The Canadian Press