ABU DHABI // A 14-floor building in Al Khalidiyah was evacuated after a road collapsed nearby on Tuesday afternoon.
Part of the road collapsed between the building, believed to be Al Khubairah Towers, and an excavation site next door, residents said.
Two residents said they had seen a crack develop in the road over the past few weeks.
An alarm could be heard coming from the evacuated building as Police and Civil Defence teams attended the scene.
The site, run by Al Fara’a Engineering General Construction Establishment, is intended to be a mixed-use plaza next to the Oryx Hotel, just off Zayed the First Street.
Donald Glass, a teacher who has lived there since 2010, said his eight-year-old son had called him at about 3.15pm while Mr Glass was at work after hearing loud noises while playing at the nearby playground.
Mr Glass’s three children, wife and nanny were home at the time, he said, and were evacuated.
“Fortunately they got out all right,” he said.
“When my son called, he was worried about mummy.”
lcarroll@thenational.ae
