
Nasser Al Neyadi and Omar Alhegelan, expert sky divers and BASE jump enthusiasts, made a perfect landing after covering a vertical descent of 672 metres (2,205 ft).
BASE jumping, an extreme sports activity, refers to the four categories of fixed objects from which one executes the jump – buildings, antennas, bridges or spans and cliffs or earth. The two base jumpers covered the distance in a breathtaking 10 second delay and 30-40 second parachute flight.
They set a new world record by jumping from the highest point of a man-made structure; the Burj Khalifa, and smoothly landed at Burj Park Island, with the parachutes fanning out 10 to 12 seconds after their adventurous jump.
Omar started BASE jumping in 1997 and has previously jumped from Petronas Towers in KL, Malaysia, during the trans-millennium New Year’s celebrations, where over 300,000 spectators watched him along with another 14 BASE jumpers make another World Record. He also has to his credit over 15,000 sky dives and multiple World and US National Titles in Freestyle & Freefly Skydiving.
Mr Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director – UAE, Emaar Properties, said that BASE jump undertaken by the UAE national is another human achievement that complements Burj Khalifa’s accomplished track-record of pushing frontiers.
At 828 metres (2,716.5 ft), Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world according to the three main criteria of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). The CTBUH ranks the world’s tallest buildings based on ‘Height to Architectural Top,’ ‘Height to Highest Occupied Floor’ and ‘Height to Tip.’