A contractor and subcontractor overseeing construction of the tower where two workers fell to their deaths last week have been detained and questioned by police in Dubai.
The incident occurred last Tuesday at 4.30pm while the two men were doing cladding work on the 27th floor on one of the buildings that form the Boulevard Plaza at the Downtown Dubai development.
While the exact cause of the accident is still being investigated, the Dubai Police has published a statement saying that it believed that the men’s cradle had “lost balance”. The National newspaper quoted a source who said that, “the side winch of the cradle they were using ‘had failed’”.
Police photography suggests that the men were wearing safety harnesses and hard hats, although it is still unclear whether they had been properly attached.
Construction Week’s sister title PMV magazine understands the case was passed onto the CID section of the local police force soon after the incident happened on the 30 November.
The National newspaper reported that Colonel Ali Ghanem, the director of Bur Dubai Police Station, confirmed, “the detained contractors would face charges of negligence leading to death.”
“The scaffolding would only have collapsed if health and safety regulations were not followed, but the exact cause is yet to be determined by the Dubai Municipality report.”
The contractors and subcontractors involved in the development that have been detained were not named by police.
Samsung-Baytur JV, the contractor on the Emaar-owned project, did not make an official statement but did state to The National that it was “working with authorities to release the bodies pending the investigation”.
PMV understands that Emaar subsidiary Multiforms had earlier confirmed that it had employed the two men and said that it would ensure the bodies of the workers were repatriated.
Multiforms is subcontracted to handle the cladding work on the site where the men died. According to The National report a source had said “the workers had been carrying out preparatory work required for the installation of glass panels on the building’s façade”.
“It was a mechanical failure; the boom is intact,” said the source. “The entire platform or cradle fell. The men were wearing safety belts and helmets but it came crashing down. They didn’t stand a chance.”
A labourer on the site reportedly told The National: “This is our job. Sometimes it is dangerous. But it’s good the police are checking; at least other workers will be safe. We keep thinking of the families of those two men. How many children did they have? What will they do now?”
