Huge fire engulfs Dubai hotel ahead of New Year celebrations

A huge fire ripped through a luxury

Dubai hotel Thursday night as people
gathered to watch New Year's Eve
celebrations, injuring at least 16
people, authorities said.
The 63-storey building, which is
close to Burj Khalifa, the world's
tallest tower, was engulfed in flames
across several floors as sirens
wailed and helicopters hovered
overhead, witnesses said.
The cause of the blaze was not
immediately known.
Dubai 's police chief said all the
hotel's residents had been evacuated
from the scene of the blaze, which
had still not been extinguished some
two hours after it broke out.
"All the residents are out," General
Khamis Matar al-Mzeima said.
"Until the fire is put out, we will not
have information on what caused it,"
he added.
"At least 14 people have been
slightly injured, along with one
medium injury, and a heart attack
case registered due to people
pushing" amid the smoke, the media
office tweeted.
It added that no children were among
those hurt.
Witness Raphael Slama told AFP the
fire started at around 9:30 pm (1730
GMT) and rapidly spread upwards
across dozens of floors.
An AFP photographer at the scene
said "it began in the middle of the
hotel, then went down like lightning
before shooting up again."
"People in the vicinity began to run in
panic to get away from the area," he
added.
The government tweeted that the fire
erupted on the 20th floor and
affected only the outer facade of the
building.
"Four firefighting teams have been
deployed" to fight the blaze, it added.
Authorities said earlier Thursday that
they had deployed thousands of
security personnel to ensure visitors
and residents could enjoy the New
Year's festivities safely.
The emirate had promised a
"spectacular" fireworks display that
was set to kick-off at midnight from
the Burj Khalifa before spreading to
various locations across the city.
A spokeswoman for the government
said the planned festivities would go
ahead despite the fire.
"New Year's celebrations will proceed
according to schedule," Mona al-
Marri said on her Twitter account.


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