Shower of glass 'like hailstones' in mall

Glass fragments line the landing of the staircase at Dunedin's Wall Street mall, after a two-metre-long glass roof panel shattered and fell two storeys on to the car, atrium area and two men below. Photo / Otago Daily Times

A wheelchair-bound man and his support worker got "a hell of a fright" after being showered with falling glass from an exploding glass ceiling panel inside Dunedin's Wall Street mall yesterday.

The Dunedin City Council is investigating the incident, which occurred about 11am when a 2-metre-long panel of safety glass in the ceiling suddenly shattered, sending glass fragments falling two floors to the public atrium below.

Support worker Ed Bedford said he and his wheelchair-bound client - who has cerebral palsy - were directly underneath the panel when they heard a bang "like a bomb going off".

The glass fragments came down "like hailstones" and left both men badly shaken but not injured, he said.

They had no idea what had happened, but "took off" outside to George St after being covered by the falling glass, he said.

"We were like snowman," Mr Bedford said.

"There was a hell of a bang, which was frightening. It sounded like a bomb going off, and [his client] and I were standing right underneath where the glass came down.

"I had to get him out of it. He got a hell of a fright, and I got a fright too, I might tell you."

The force of the falling material was enough to dent the roof of a display vehicle parked in the mall's atrium only hours earlier, as well as smash its rear window.

Mr Bedford and his client were admiring the vehicle when the glass above them came down, he said.

Shop staff said mall staff were quick to move people away from the atrium, and close the mall until an initial safety inspection was completed about noon.

The $34 million multi-level shopping centre was developed by the council and opened in 2009.

Council city property manager Robert Clark said a "defective" inner panel of the mall's double-glazed glass ceiling had shattered and fallen in, possibly after expanding and contracting over time.

He was "absolutely" concerned people had been hit by the falling debris, but said the safety glass had acted as it was designed to by shattering, which helped avoid injury.

"Usually when a piece of glass of that nature... breaks, it usually does make a fairly loud noise."

Council maintenance staff inspected the damage immediately after yesterday's incident and determined the rest of the glass was safe, and decided to reopen the mall with some areas cordoned off.

Contractors involved in the mall's design and construction then conducted a more thorough assessment yesterday afternoon, and agreed it was safe for public use, he said.