Northern Alberta Institute of Technology students who witnessed another student fall several storeys inside a building Monday were stunned by what they saw.

First-year business student Mohammed Ali was working with his friend Ibrahim Mohammed on the 4th floor of the new Centre for Applied Technology, a five-storey building on the NAIT main campus, when the student fell at about 10:55 a.m.

"We were looking at our papers and we saw something out of the corner of our eyes, going down," Ali said.

Student Mohammed Ali said he had a hard time believing what he had seen. (Nola Keeler/CBC) "We didn't quite know what it was. But then after, we heard the noise of that person hitting the floor. We thought it was a bomb or something."

Ali and Mohammed looked over the railing and saw the student on the main floor below.

"I didn't want to believe what I saw," said Ali. "My mind could not conceive what my eyes...saw."

Injuries not life-threatening, police say

Police confirmed Monday afternoon the student suffered "serious, but non-life threatening injuries."

Investigators believe the incident was "non-criminal in nature," said Edmonton police spokesperson Scott Pattison.

Ali said everyone at NAIT is hoping the student makes a full recovery. "He's one of us — one of the NAIT students — so we want to think of everyone in this community, everyone in this faculty, as someone close and dear to us," he said.

Daniel Kiskaroly was in the cafeteria on the main floor when the incident happened.

"I kind of heard a thud," he said. "It really carried over. I went around the corner and just noticed this guy on the ground when everybody just kind of started running over."

Students face 'pressures'

The main floor of the Centre for Applied Technology building at NAIT. (Nola Keeler/CBC) Jenna Davis arrived at the Centre for Applied Technology building shortly after the incident.

She felt sick to her stomach when she heard what had happened.

"You get this overwhelming sense of fear," she said.

"It's just such a dark time of year with the school and with the weather. I'm really glad that they're getting the counselling thing started up … I wish that could have been avoided."

Davis said it's important to talk about pressures facing post-secondary students.

"I definitely don't want it to go covered up and pretend that it didn't happen because it did," she said. "It's something that should be known because it's something that needs to change, not just here but everywhere."

Building opened in September

The $300-million Centre for Applied Technology, the largest capital project in NAIT's history, opened in September.

The 550,000 square-foot facility includes more than 50 classrooms, a 135-seat theatre and 45 labs and simulation rooms that replicate professional settings such as hospitals and banks. More than 5,000 students can attend classes in the building every day.

NAIT has offered counselling to any students or staff who want it. Six counsellors and a chaplain met with students and staff Monday and will be available on Tuesday. Business student Brandon Cooper said that's a positive move.

"I think a lot of students need to become a lot more aware that there are supports there and I think that's what NAIT is really going to try to do now," Cooper said.

Classes in the building were cancelled for the rest of the day. They will resume Tuesday.

Landry said emergency services "responded quickly" and took the student to hospital.

Later Monday morning, NAIT posted on Twitter asking students to avoid walking through the main floor of the Centre for Applied Technology.

'We're all really shocked and saddened'

NAIT Students' Association spokesperson Jason Roth said students who have questions or concerns, or who may need someone to talk to after the incident should access available counselling services on campus.

"We're all really shocked and saddened right now, but we're also sitting here trying to figure out what had happened and get details on that," Roth said.

"Everybody around here is extremely saddened and shocked and want to offer their support for NAIT and ... any other students affected."

NAIT students took to Twitter on Monday to share support for one another.

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NAITAlert?src=hash">#NAITAlert</a>: An incident occurred at 10:55am in the Centre for Applied Technology. An individual was injured after a fall. (1/4) —@NAIT