A fire engulfed The Address Hotel in downtown Dubai in the United Arab Emirates hours before a large fireworks display was set to start nearby from the Burj Khalifa tower, the world’s largest building.
Large tongues of flame shooting skywards enveloped the 63-story luxury hotel and residential block, which lies across a plaza from the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, where people were gathering for a spectacular fireworks display due to mark the start of the New Year.
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The Dubai government’s media office said the blaze was 90 percent under control, according to Reuters. The wire service reported that police chief Major General Khamis Matar told Al Arabiya television: “All residents of the hotel were evacuated and there are 14 injured, with light injuries.”
AFP reported that all of the residents had been safely evacuated from the hotel, according to police.
Witnesses have been sending footage and pictures of the conflagration via social media.
The Dubai government’s media office tweeted that civil defense teams were working to evacuate the 300-metre hotel and tackle the fire.
It said the blaze had started on the 20th floor, on the outside of the tower, and that internal fire-fighting systems were operating to try to prevent it getting inside the hotel. Four fire brigade teams were at the site.
Dubai is a trade, tourism and investment hub for the Gulf region, and is one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Every year, Dubai stages one of the world’s most spectacular fireworks displays from the 160-storey Burj, which opened in 2010 and stands almost 830 metres (2,722 feet) tall.
