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Is Dubai building too fast? - 9 November 2007

As news came through last night of a fatal accident involving a bridge collapsing as it was being constructed in Dubai Marina, killing seven workers and injuring 15, questions have been raised over the speed of construction in the Emirate, as well as the conditions of construction workers.

The bridge was being built to span one of the internal canals within the marina complex, and had up to 40 workers on it at the time of collapse.

"We tried to put a huge piece of metal in a wall when it collapsed," said Muthu Raj, one of the workers interviewed by the media. "I saw colleagues trapped inside, but I managed to jump back and stepped on the road."

A spokesman for the construction company involved in building the bridge was quoted as saying that families of the dead and injured workers would be compensated for their loss.

The construction industry in Dubai has been coming under increasing scrutiny in recent months as strikes over pay and conditions for the largely migrant workforce hit the timings of the new buildings, and safety concerns come to the fore. At times building work appears to continue around the clock, with shifts of workers bussed in daily from the temporary towns hastily constructed outside the city centre.

 

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