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Dubai skyscraper ablaze near New Year's Eve fireworks Dubai skyscraper ablaze near New Year's Eve fireworks
(35 minutes later)
Fire has broken out in a hotel building near Dubai’s massive New Year’s Eve fireworks display, but a civil defence official has said there are no known injuries. A huge fire has engulfed part of a luxury Dubai hotel, near where revellers had gathered to watch a New Year’s Eve fireworks display.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which ran up at least 20 storeys of the Address Downtown hotel near the world’s tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa. Burning debris rained down from the building as fire engines raced to the scene. The inferno lit up the side of the Address Downtown hotel near the centre of the city, scattering bystanders and shoppers in a nearby mall. The Dubai government said one person had a heart attack as a result of the smoke and the rush to get out of the building. One person was described as moderately injured and 14 people were said to have suffered minor injuries.
But Maj Gen Rashed al-Matrushi, general director of the Dubai civil defence, told the television channel Al Arabiya that no one had been hurt and that Dubai’s new year celebrations would go ahead. The planned midnight fireworks display would go ahead, officials said.
“There are no injuries, thank God ... of course, it will not affect the celebration,” Reuters quoted him as saying. Maj Gen Rashed al-Matrushi, general director of the Dubai civil defence, reportedly told the television channel Al Arabiya earlier: “There are no injuries, thank God ... Of course, it will not affect the celebration.”
Dubai police said four firefighting teams were on the scene attempting to control the blaze which was along the exterior of the hotel and had not spread inside. The Dubai police said the blaze started on the 20th floor of the building, which is also a residential address. Footage taken by witnesses and uploaded to the internet shows huge flames rapidly climbing the hotel’s exterior from what appeared to be a terrace or balcony.
The flames appeared to have soared to near the top of the building within seconds. More than one hour after the fire started, it still appeared to be out of control.
@cnnbrk address hotel in Dubai next to Burj Khalifa on fire pic.twitter.com/LzzkAYpIy2@cnnbrk address hotel in Dubai next to Burj Khalifa on fire pic.twitter.com/LzzkAYpIy2
The 63-storey-high Address Downtown hotel lies on a boulevard in central Dubai, close to the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping mall. Burning debris rained down from the building as fire engines raced to the scene.
Dubai had planned to wow spectators with three separate firework displays. The show was to begin at the Burj Khalifa, which organisers said was fitted with 400,000 LED lights. Witnesses said hotel staff and fire crews had evacuated all guests. The evacuation was aided by the fact that the blaze did not immediately penetrate the building, its enormous flames instead feeding off the the outside of the 63-storey structure.
From there, the fireworks were to light up the sky around the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and later down near the Dubai marina. The organisers said 1.6 tonnes of fireworks would be used in the display. Survivors of the blaze said they were ushered out via fire stairs. “We were immediately shown where to leave,” said David Moran a Dubai-based businessman who was dining in the hotel. “They were very good. They knew their jobs and people escaped without panic.”
. @DXBMediaOffice: New Year celebrations in Dubai will continue as scheduled #MyDubaiNewYear Another witness told Dubai television of a crush to get out, once guests realised the extent of the blaze. “They evacuated us into a shopping mall,” he said. There were so many people running.”
The Address hotel stands on a boulevard in downtown Dubai near the tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, and Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping mall. The area is one of the sites for an annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display that is one of the largest in the world.
Last year, Dubai broke the world record for the largest fireworks display on New Year’s Eve, releasing 479,651 shells during the midnight pyrotechnic show.Last year, Dubai broke the world record for the largest fireworks display on New Year’s Eve, releasing 479,651 shells during the midnight pyrotechnic show.
Dubai’s glittering skyline has seen two other similar fires in recent years. Many of the city’s buildings have floors well out of reach of conventional firefighting equipment and rely on advanced sprinkler systems and other fire retardants.
. @DXBMediaOffice: New Year celebrations in Dubai will continue as scheduled #MyDubaiNewYear