ABU DHABI //The crane that toppled on to Hamdan Street on Tuesday had no safety certificate and would have failed a safety inspection.
In pictures: Crane collapses on Hamdan Street
Click above to view more pictures of the collapse at a construction site in Abu Dhabi.
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Its owners were ordered to halt all their projects after inspectors found safety violations at the site of the incident. "There were many defects in that crane," said Syed Zafer of TUV Middle East, the company that carried out a preliminary investigation for the municipality. "It would not have passed one of our inspections."
The mobile crane fell over just before 10am on Tuesday near the junction of Salam Street and Hamdan Street. Initial reports said it had a wrecking ball attached and was moving in reverse when it toppled. The crane's horizontal boom bent backwards and landed in the road.
No one was injured, but dismantling the crane took hours and created traffic gridlock in the city centre.
Abdulaziz Zurub, health, safety and environment manager at the municipality, said site visits yesterday uncovered violations including improper welding on the crane.
“It is very lucky that no one was hurt,” he said.
The crane’s owners, Al Hareef, are not one of the municipality’s 25 registered demolition companies. No new building or demolition permits will be issued to the company until it registers and is approved by the municipality.
Mr Zafer, whose company is one of six approved by the municipality to inspect and certify lifting equipment, said the crane had no safety certification and was too old to be used. He also said modifications had been made to the crane that are not recommended by international standards.
A full investigation report will be available early next week.
Ali Ahmed El Taher, the project manager for Al Hareef, said the company had a safety certificate from Civil Defence. He declined to say when it was issued. An Al Hareef employee said the company hired only experienced equipment operators.
The municipality will begin implementing new health and safety guidelines this year that include regulations on lifting-equipment inspections. Third-party companies will issue safety certificates, which contractors and construction companies must show to municipal safety inspectors on regular site visits.
“We are very strict,” said Rehan Zaidi, the general manager of Team Safety, one of the municipality-approved companies. “If the equipment is not 100 per cent, we will not issue a certificate.”
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Such regulations are already in place in Dubai, but safety inspections of construction equipment in the capital are optional. Some companies voluntarily seek out inspections but the documents are not yet required by law.
Reiner Litao, the technical manager at municipality-approved Star Safety, said the frequency of inspections to update the safety certificates depended on the equipment and could range from checks every year to once every four years.
New municipal regulations will also require that all equipment operators receive some sort of qualification. Workshops led by the third-party inspectors will be held to educate builders on the new laws.
“This is absolutely necessary in Abu Dhabi,” Mr Zaidi said. “Because no one from the municipality is coming to check, companies say, ‘Why do I need a certificate?’ But they do need it. If the equipment fails, someone can get hurt.”
Inspection companies said enforcing a culture of safety would reduce accidents and injuries on construction sites.
“Right now, construction companies are not interested in investing in safety,” Mr Zafer said. “They are supposed to have safety inspections but no one complies.”
New regulations will complement continuing safety initiatives. Daily visits from the municipality’s health and safety inspectors, which began last year, specifically focus on crane safety, and every building project is required to draw up a comprehensive safety plan, which must include measures to minimise the risk from any machinery, particularly lifting gear.
jthomas@thenational.ae
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
