Snow from world's tallest tower pierces Tokyo roof

A chunk of frozen snow that fell off the world's tallest tower crashed through the roof of a Tokyo home, leaving a 30 centimetre (one-foot) hole, officials said Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for the 634-metre Tokyo Skytree, which opened last year, said the home was about 100 metres south of the tower.

It was unclear which part of the tower the chunk had fallen from before hitting the roof covering the home's verandah, she said.

"The snow was found splashed over the verandah, but no one was injured," said Skytree spokeswoman Ayumi Kimura, adding the incident happened Tuesday.

The capital was hammered by an unusually large snowstorm earlier this week, leaving at least two people dead and almost 1,600 others injured mainly from car accidents and slipping on icy streets, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The Tokyo Skytree deployed about 60 security guards on the ground near the steel tower to warn passersby about the possibility of falling ice.

Last year, there were four similar incidents when snow fell off the tower and left holes in the roofs of nearby houses or commercial buildings.