As macabre as it may sound, everyone knows that death is inevitable. However, the cause of death is different for every person. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), heart disease and stroke are the world’s biggest killers, accounting for a combined 15 million deaths in 2015. In comparison, only an average of 700 people die every year from being struck by a falling object in the US and 250,000 are left injured, as stated by US-based newspaper The Boston Globe.

While global statistics aren’t available for the same, and though it is a small number, these unexpected deaths are occurring around the world and objects falling from heights are a huge safety concern. In the UAE, 53 people lost their lives in 2011 by working at heights or falling objects, as stated in a Gulf News report published in May 2012. The two continue to be the leading cause of death on worksites in Abu Dhabi, as confirmed by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (Haad).

To put things into perspective, according to a CNN report, 2015 was the most dangerous year for unprovoked shark attacks; 98 people were attacked around the world and only six deaths were reported. The number of deaths is in line with the global average, as stated by National Geographic.

So, people have a higher chance of dying from an object that falls out of a high-rise than being attacked by a shark.

This is also supported by the US-based National Institutes of Health, which confirms that falling objects can cause severe injury to the head, back and shoulders. Even items such as coconuts falling from trees are said to kill an average of 150 people around the world every year, as stated in a report by US-based newspaper The New York Times. Falling from a height of up to 35 metres, they can build up an impact speed of 80km/h. But, the odds don’t apply to you if you like to swim in shark-infested waters more than standing under a coconut tree.

Despite all the statistics available, the issue of objects falling out of buildings or high-rises isn’t given much attention. Even though we may think that this is an issue that we don’t need to worry too much about, with more lives being lost in car accidents or due to smoking, a lot of us clutter our balconies or terraces with junk, flower pots or clothes racks, which may fall down and some even toss garbage out the windows and ever so often, someone walks underneath.