Fire Erupts at Building in Downtown Dubai
By Camila DomonoskeFire Erupts at Building in Downtown Dubai
By Camila DomonoskeA hotel in downtown Dubai erupted in flames on Thursday evening, just two hours before the city was due to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a massive fireworks display.
Fire at The Address, Downtown #Dubai (KT video by Rahul Gajjar) pic.twitter.com/ofOJXW3UEI
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) December 31, 2015
Dubai’s media office confirms on Twitter that a fire has been reported at the Address Downtown Dubai hotel, and that authorities are on the site.
The fire began outside of the building, on the 20th floor, the media officetweeted, and firefighters are working to prevent it from spreading through the skyscraper’s interior.
“It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which ran up at least 20 stories of the building near the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper,” The Associated Press reports.
Burning debris was falling from the building, the AP notes.
The 63-story Address Downtown Dubai building was completed in 2008, and contains 196 luxury hotel rooms and more than 600 apartments, according to its website. By some counts, it’s one of the 100 tallest buildings in the world.
There have been no reported injuries as of 1:45 p.m. ET.
Several spectators in Dubai recorded live video of the blaze on the Periscope app.
The Dubai media office says that the midnight fireworks — including some sent from the nearby Burj Khalifa — will continue as scheduled.
This is a developing story. Some things that get reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene. We will update as the situation develops.