Dubai television tower demolished

Dubai: The aging Jumeirah television tower was demolished on Friday, bringing an end to one of Dubai's iconic structures.
The 255 metre-high antenna was built 22 years ago, making it the region's oldest television antenna. It had been a well-known feature on Dubai's skyline.

Video: Click here to watch Dubai's TV tower demolished

Demolition crews began work on Thursday by scaling the structure and replacing parts with special charges. The antenna was guarded overnight by Dubai police.

About three-and-a-half kilos of explosives were used in the demolition process. Officials declined to say what type of explosives were used.

There was heavy police presence at the scene and paramedics were on standby.

Also at the site was Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, who came to witness the demoltion.

Peter Pip of Gulf Rock Engineering Group headed the demolition process and said it went according to plan.

"The antenna came down this morning according to plan. It fell in the exact direction as calculated. We had no excessive noise and no dust so the whole process worked perfectly," he said.

The crew consisted of no more than 10 workers. Some of them had also been part of the team that erected the antenna in 1986.

Among them was Bob Jaggard, who returned to head the project. Jaggard helped build the tower.

"Unfortunately time moves on and it's a sad day for many people for this landmark to be removed. It's indicative of change here in Dubai; the longer you stay the longer you want to hold onto what you know because it becomes a part of you. But I suspect next week they'll forget about it and move onto something else - that's life," Jaggard said.

The antenna was initially set up to help promote Dubai's image in the GCC region, carrying both Arabic and English-language stations for Dubai Media Incorporated.

The aging antenna will now make way for cutting-edge fibre optic technology.