Highest base jump-Nasr Al Niyadi and Omar Al
Hegelan sets world record
DUBAI, UAE--Nasr Al Niyadi and Omar Al Hegelan
from the Emirates Aviation Society made a perfect landing
after jumping-with permission-2,205ft (672 meters) from the
160th floor of the Burj
Khalifa, the world's
tallest building - setting the new world record for the
Highest
base jump.
Photo: Omar Al Hegelan does a somersault
thousands of feet up after following his colleague Nasr Al
Niyadi from the 160th floor of the building / Reuters (enlarge
photo)
The pair, from the Emirates Aviation
Society, made the descent at speeds up to 137mph in under
one and a half minutes.
Ahmad Al Matroushi, managing director
of UAE of Emaar Properties which built the Burj Khalifa, said:
'The highest
base jump undertaken by the UAE national and his trainer
is another human achievement that complements Burj Khalifa's
accomplished track-record of pushing frontiers.'
Photo: Mr Al Hegelan parachutes the final
few feet to the ground in Burj Park Island after a 90 second
descent from the skyscraper. / Reuters
(enlarge
photo)
Mr Al Niyadi, who was one of 15 base jumpers
to set the previous Guinness world
record for base jumping off the Petronas Towers in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, described the feat as 'the best experience
ever'.
'When we were at the top of the building I was
thinking "this is crazy",' he told gulfnews.com.'I was a little
nervous but I wanted to jump from the highest tower in the
world to record an achievement for my family and for my country.
'As soon as we reached the ground I looked
up and just thought "wow". I have completed over 2,700 jumps
but this was the most amazing.'
Base jumping refers to the four categories of
fixed objects from which people taking part jump - buildings,
antennas, bridges or spans and cliffs or earth.
Mr Al Niyadi and Mr Al Hegelan, both members
of the Fazza Sky Team, landed safely at Burj Park Island after
a breathtaking 10 second freefall and 80 second parachute
flight.