A fire engulfed The Address Hotel in downtown Dubai in the United Arab Emirates hours before a large New Year fireworks display was set to start nearby from the Burj Khalifa tower, the world's largest building, witnesses said.
Witnesses said large tongues of flames shooting skywards enveloped the luxury hotel, which lies across a plaza from the Burj Khalifa, where hundreds of people were gathering to view a spectacular fireworks display due to start shortly to mark the New Year.
The Dubai government's media office said on its Twitter feed that civil defense teams were working to evacuate the hotel and tackle the fire.
Dubai is one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a Gulf Arab trade and investment hub.A civil defence official said on the Al-Arabiya television network there were no injuries, and that the New Year's Eve celebrations will go ahead as planned.
Separately, officials said via Twitter that the fire started on the 20th floor, outside the tower. They said internal fire extinguishers prevented the fire from spreading inside the hotel.
Firefighters are working to control the blaze, officials added at about 1:30 p.m. ET. Dubai planned to wow spectators with three separate firework displays. The show is to begin at the Burj Khalifa, which organizers said was fitted with 400,000 LED lights. They said 1.45 tonnes of fireworks would be used in the display.
From there, the fireworks will to light up the sky around the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and later down near the Dubai Marina. Fireworks also will be on display in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the country of seven emirates.
