Broken glass rains from Rolex Tower

Dubai: Drivers and road workers were shocked yesterday afternoon after shards of glass rained down upon them from a tower on Shaikh Zayed Road.

At about 3pm yesterday a 3.6 metre by 1.5 metre sheet of glass, being installed on the 50th floor of the Rolex Tower, shattered and its shards showered the Shaikh Zayed service road.

Pedestrians and workers scrambled for cover after hearing a warning call.

The under-construction Rolex Tower is next to the construction site of an RTA Metro station. A worker at the Metro site spotted the glass shattering and was able to yell out a warning before running for cover himself.

Fortunately nobody was injured. The two cars driving by at the time took minor damage; the most severe being a cracked windshield.

Dubai Contracting Company LLC (DCC) is building the tower.

"A sudden gust of wind caused the sheet of glass to slam against the side of the building as it was being lifted to be fitted into place," said Ebrahim Emara, DCC Project Engineer for the Rolex Tower, who was on site at the time of the accident. "The wind also allowed for the debris to be blown beyond the safety cover we had built."

"At first I though it was hail when I heard the cluster of sharp bangs on the roof of the car," said Salahuddin Ghulam, a taxi driver for Metro Taxi whose cab was damaged from the falling shards.

DCC said it will be sure to reimburse the drivers for any damage done to their vehicles.