WorkSafeBC has slapped a stop-work order on a new high-rise project in downtown Vancouver after a huge window pane dropped 36 stories to the street below.

People near the construction site at Seymour and Pacific Streets narrowly escaped injury Thursday when a two-metre framed window plummeted to the ground damaging two vehicles.

A site safety officer said a glazier was installing the pane when his harness suddenly snagged, jarring the glass and the suction cup holding it loose from his grasp.

A construction worker's car took the worst hit when the pane bounced off a truck and landed on the car’s roof outside the site of The Mark condominium tower in Yaletown,

The driver wasn't inside his car at the time, but was standing just a metre away.

Driver Steve Walker was inside the cab of the truck at the time, but was philosophical about the close call.

"It's one of those things. You go to work, you hope for the best, and today I'm going to go home to the family. Aside from that, what can I say," Walker said.

WorkSafeBC spokeswoman Donna Freeman says some of the work at the site will be halted while an investigation takes place.

"The installation of the windows has been stopped. We did issue a stop work order. Other work is ongoing, but obviously we are going to have a presence there and make sure this site is safe to continue work on."

Area residents say they have been complaining about falling debris from the construction site. Freeman says they haven't been able to substantiate those claims but adds they are still looking into it.