Freefall from 99th floor wows Dubai residents

Residents in the building were clearly surprised to see people flying past their window as part of a global Dream Jump event happening in Dubai.

Dubai — Freefalling from the top of Dubai Marina’s tallest residential tower without a parachute is not exactly the idea of a perfect Friday morning, except for a dozen odd adrenalin junkies.

Turning the Marina block into a playground of zip lines and hanging ropes, over 40 daredevil jumpers have been leaping one after the other from the 99th floor of the Princess Tower since the past week.

Residents in the building were clearly surprised to see people flying past their window as part of a global Dream Jump event happening in Dubai.

“It is very surprising when you wake up and go to make a coffee and someone just flies past your window,” said Carl Addison, a resident living in the tower.

Carl even invited some of his close friends to witness the bizarre episode of people jumping from the building’s rooftop.

“It is not every day that you see people flying outside your home. People are literally shocked. It is a fantastic idea and definitely different from anything I have ever seen in my life,” remarked Carl.

The Dream Jump event in Dubai allowed professional base jumpers to zip line, freefall and perform stunts against Dubai Marina’s iconic backdrop with a view of Palm Jumeirah.

Vince Reffet was one of the few professional base jumpers invited for the event. Speaking with Khaleej Times before his jump, the daredevil shared his excitement saying: “Once you get off the platform and jump, you go through a lot of feelings. Here in Dubai, you have some of the most beautiful buildings and the view of Palm Jumeirah makes it very unique. It is very different from jumping in other place which have more natural beauty,” said Vince.

Vince who has previously jumped from the top of the Burj Khalifa in a much publicised stunt last year was happy to experience the thrill of zip lining over the marina’s anchorage. “The feeling of stress and anxiety transforms into power and adrenalin when you are just about to jump. All of us were excited to see the first dream jump in Dubai,” he said.

For first timer, Max Stanton, leaping off the tower without a parachute in a dream jump was a ‘crazy experience’.

“It was amazing and you just keep falling and falling for a very long time. Sometimes you think, as a human you aren’t supposed to be up on the edge of a building standing 100 floors in the air. When I went down, I just wanted to do it again. I ended up doing a second jump the very same day,” said Max. For the show’s organisers, the event is yet another way to put Dubai on the global map of adventure sports and events.

In an earlier interview, Nasser Al Neyadi, chairman of Skydive Dubai had said: “Dream Jump Dubai will break all boundaries of rope jumping as we know it and it will enable athletes to experience base jumps ... (in the backdrop of) ... one of the most iconic skylines in the world.”

More than 10 kilometers of zip line allow jumpers to have a longer free-fall distance than in a bungee jump.

Zarir Saifuddin, partner at Never Before Events told Khaleej Times: “These are the largest zip line systems ever installed inside a city. The project has brought together 40 people from four different companies to work on an event of this magnitude. We are very proud and happy to bring events like this to Dubai and make it a reality. It is something that will amaze people.”

A team of specialists designed the layout for the dream jump, which allows people to experience free-fall without using a parachute.

Sponsored by Skydive Dubai, the event which started on April 13 will end on Sunday, allowing professional athletes and a select group of invitees to experience the free-fall lasting over 10 seconds.

muaz@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE
• UAE