One Direction halt Dubai concert over safety fears

One Direction were forced to call a halt to their Dubai gig on Saturday (04Apr15) when several concert-goers toppled through safety barriers and fainted in the crush.

The members of the boy band, who became a four-piece last month (Mar15) after Zayn Malik quit, stopped in the middle of the show and reportedly refused to go back onstage until they were reassured fans were no longer in danger.

The incident occurred when eager crowds at the back of the Sevens stadium pushed forward against a safety barrier. The band was offstage for half an hour while security guards repaired the divider and gave out bottles of water to those who had fainted.

Returning to the stage, singer Harry Styles said, "We're very sorry about the delay" and Liam Payne added, "We're very sorry, we had a minor fault tonight."

Earlier in the gig, Payne had responded to a fan's poster that read, "Are you and Zaynie okay?" by saying, "We are. We're good, I can promise you that."

The Dubai concert was the last gig in the current leg of the group's On The Road Again tour before they return to Europe to resume the trek in June (15).