A skyscraper caught fire in Dubai Thursday night as thousands awaited a firework spectacular that would ring in the new year. The flames apparently first erupted outside the 20th floor of the 63-story Address Downtown Dubai, according to officials there.
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The fireworks display went ahead as smoke continued to billow from the hotel. The hotel was evacuated and most of the injuries were reported to be minor.
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The five-star hotel, which contains 626 luxury apartments and 196 hotel rooms, is believed to have been filled to capacity because of its great view of the Burj Khalifa and the fireworks.
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Despite the massive fire that engulfed the 63-storey skyscraper in downtown Dubai there appeared to be limited injuries, with some reports varying from 14 hurt to 60 suffering minor injuries from smoke inhalation and the rush to exit the hotel.
Then she said she realized, “Oh my God… that’s a fire….”
The fire broke out as governments around the world were on high alert for possible terrorist attacks tied to New Year’s Eve celebrations, but there was no immediate indication that terrorism was to blame for the blaze.
Organizers had installed 400,000 LED lights on the Burj Khalifa and used some 1.6 tons of fireworks for the seven-minute extravaganza.
Four fire brigade teams were on the site but the fire quickly spread and could not be contained right away. No one offered a cause for the fire.
Almost an hour after the fire began, some onlookers began to leave while others stood, pressed against crowd barricades, watching the blaze. Jaqueline Hurtado, a CNN en Español correspondent, said she was at a restaurant in the area when she heard an explosion, “like a loud pop”, and thought the fireworks display may have started early. “The fire was just going so fast”, she said.
“You feel sad for the people inside….”
Tom Stroud, from London, who is staying near to the hotel, said: “It happened so quickly”.
He and others in the crowd wondered what had started the blaze.
Happy New Year from the world’s tallest tower. She too was concerned about threats from extremists like the Islamic State group.
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“Sometimes it makes me feel unsafe”, she said.
