Dubai: Residents said some New Year’s Eve revellers in Downtown Dubai got carried away and ‘lost their sense of decency,’ risking the safety of others.
Revellers by the “millions” descended on Downtown Dubai to usher in 2014, according to organisers’ estimates. Ground support deployed in the area including Dubai Police, the Roads and Transport Authority and mall security was significantly increased during the celebrations to effectively manage the crowd.
Residents said the authorities did an excellent job in trying to control the crowd, but it was so massive that some rowdy revellers managed to dismantle the metal barriers.
“One guy pushed the barricade to dismantle it to pass through. Everyone followed him. Some jumped over the barricade, including two ladies who fell to the ground,” Khan, a father of three, told Gulf News. “Luckily, there was no stampede. But there was chaos here.”
“Some people lost their sense of decency. They didn’t care about other people and just pushed their way through the crowd even if there was no room,” Indian expatriate Sandhya Kad said.
Viewing areas were packed as early as 7pm. Those who came later settled on the pavement surrounding the boulevard, with a limited view of the tower. Some unruly revellers pushed their way through to get a better spot, which irritated Sudanese expatriate Musaab Al Noor.
“I was very mad because people could see there were children and a pregnant woman in the crowd yet some of them just kept pushing,” he said.
By 11.20pm, organisers closed one of Dubai Mall’s exits to divert the crowd to the back of the mall. The crowd overreacted, according to Kavita Rajas.
“There were those running and shouting like mad as if it was the end of the world or something.”
After the show, revellers patiently walked out of the boulevard and onto the Financial Centre Road to the Dubai Metro.
But despite the extended service of the Metro and the deployment of additional feeder buses in the area, scores of revellers chose to walk to the next Metro station as the Dubai Mall station was already packed.
