  In this paper we study how the distortion generated by a static and neutral
distribution of external matter affects a 5-dimensional
Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black hole. A solution representing a particular
class of such distorted black holes admits an RxU(1)xU(1) isometry group. We
show that there exists a certain duality transformation between the black hole
horizon and a stretched singularity surfaces. The space-time near the distorted
black hole singularity has the same topology and Kasner exponents as those of a
5-dimensional Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black hole. We calculate the maximal
proper time of free fall of a test particle from the distorted black hole
horizon to its singularity and find that, depending on the distortion, it can
be less, equal to, or greater than that of a Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black
hole of the same horizon area. This implies that due to the distortion, the
singularity of a Schwarzschild-Tangherlini black hole can come close to its
horizon. A relation between the Kretschmann scalar calculated on the horizon of
a 5-dimensional static, asymmetric, distorted black hole and the trace of the
square of the Ricci tensor of the horizon surface is derived.
