Dubai: An eerie silence hovered over Global Village early on Friday morning as authorities closed down operations of all the amusement rides, following an accident that killed a visitor on Thursday.
However, thousands of visitors flocked to Global Village on Friday but the police cordoned off the fun fair area where the accident took place, as investigations are currently underway.
The Global Village management also announced cancellation of all scheduled entertainments shows for the day as it paid condolences to the family of the deceased.
Dubai Police, meanwhile, arrested three men in connection with death of the Emirati man in the global village on Thursday, Dubai police officials said on Friday.
Police said the three suspected men were working for the company who is in charge of maintenance of the games area, operating and managing the rides for public.
Police said the three men are facing the charges of of causing the death of the man by mistake.
The Police official said the case was transferred to public prosecution for investigation.
“The body of the victim just handed to his family for burial,” police said yesterday.
Police confirmed that a metal rod fell down on the head of the victim killing him instantly.
According to an official at the Global Village, the accident took place around 10:30 pm on Thursday when a metal bar from the giant Ferris Wheel, the Freij World Wheel, fell on an Emirati man’s head, killing him instantly.
The Global Village had seen an unprecedented rush on Thursday with around 150,000 people visiting the shopping and entertainment destination.
According to a source, the deceased’s children were riding on the Ferris Wheel and the victim was waiting for them near by when the tragedy struck.
The police arrived on the scene immediately and safely evacuated the area. However, it was not clear if there were any other injuries caused by the accident.
“Whatever happened is really unfortunate and scary. It freaks me out, it could have happened to anybody, I have used the ride before, I think I will have a second thought before I take the ride again,” said a visitor, who wished not to be named.
Dubai Municipality officials were also on the scene, inspecting the safety standards of the amusement rides, which were apparently certified as safe by a globally acclaimed German safety-certifying agency.
According to Global Village management the amusement rides complies with three major EU safety regulations including the Fairground and Amusement Park Machinery and Structures Safety, Operation of Electrical Installations and European Inspection Agency Guidelines for the Approval and Safety Inspection of Amusement Rides.
This is the second case of death in Global Village in the last three years.
According to media reports in March 2010, one person had died and 13 people were hurt when an entrance to the Indian pavilion collapsed.
In early 2005, a small fire had broken out on a dhow at Global Village, however, no injuries were reported from the incident.
A similar incident happened in Sharjah last month when a three year old Emirati boy was hit by a component of a ride at the Water Festival in Al Majaz Water front. The boy is still in a critical state.
“This is simply not acceptable. Authorities need to be more stringent about safety on amusement rides otherwise more lives will be in danger,” said another visitor, Salman Waleed.
