Seven killed in Dubai bridge collapse

DUBAI (Reuters) - At least seven people were killed and about 15 injured on Thursday when a Dubai bridge under construction collapsed near luxury hotels and high-rises in the Gulf tourism hub.

Police said the incident in the new part of the city, where thousands of housing units are being built, appeared to be the result of a construction problem.

"According to initial reports, seven are dead and about 15 are injured," deputy police chief Jamal al-Marri told Reuters by telephone.

A Reuters witness saw three bodies being pulled out and taken away in police vehicles. "They had orange overalls and were covered as they were carried on stretchers," she said.

Nine workers were rushed to a government hospital with bad injuries, a police officer at the site said.

Dubai, one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates, is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, with a building boom involving the construction of scores of skyscrapers, including the world's tallest building. The world's largest theme park is also under construction in Dubai.

Policemen and rescue workers at the site said that about 40 construction workers were on top of the overpass when a crane hit a segment of the structure, bringing it down.

Matar Saeed al-Tayer, director general of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority, was quoted as saying that the incident apparently happened after workers placed an excessive amount of steel on the bridge, causing it to collapse.

"The amount of steel placed was more than allowed. There are certain safety rules that any contractor should adhere to," the official WAM news agency quoted Tayer as saying.

Dubai police chief, Dahi Khalfan Tamim, said rescue crews were on the scenes within four minutes of the accident with helicopters and ambulances.

The police brought sniffer dogs to search for any victims buried in the rubble.

Most workers in Dubai hail from the Indian subcontinent.

Two workers were killed and about 60 injured in January when a fire broke out in a tower block under construction in Dubai, the trading and tourism hub of the United Arab Emirates.

(Additional reporting by Firouz Sedarat, Fouad Juez and Ola Galal; Editing by Sami Aboudi)