Washington Monument Closed To Visitors For Repairs After Elevator Malfunction
The Washington Monument will remain closed Wednesday after an elevator malfunction Tuesday night forced several visitors to walk down hundreds of steps. Two pregnant women, stranded at the top of the monument, were carried down the stairs on chairs.
U.S. Park Police spokeswoman Sgt. Anna Rose said, according to the Associated Press, that the elevator, with three people on board, was safely called to ground level, but officials determined that it could not be used until it is repaired. The fire department was called in to bring people down from the monument, which has 897 steps. None of the people present required medical attention.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, for as out of shape as we were," Don Butler, who was inside the monument said, according to NBC News, adding: "It was great because we could see all the stones you couldn't see on a regular tour."
The elevator reportedly stopped working just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, but the cause of the outage was still unclear. There was also no estimate on when the repairs will begin and how long it will take.
The monument has witnessed several problems over the years with the latest one in June, when it faced electrical issues, including elevator malfunctions, USA Today reported.
The monument was also shut in May after power outages, WUSA 9, an affiliate for USA Today, reported. However, no one was inside at the time.
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