Angus Villar was having champagne with his family on the 15th floor of the Address Downtown hotel when a huge fire broke out around 9.30pm, hours before the New Year’s Eve fireworks display was held nearby. “It was the only way of getting her out of the building unfortunately”, he said.
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They managed to control the fire well in time for the celebratory fireworks to go on as planned at Burj Khalifa.
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Horns blared and crowds cheered as the tower was then lit up with fireworks, with colours shifting from green to red to white. More than 100,000 people are expected to turn up to see the fireworks in London , which is a ticketed event.
Burning debris rained down from The Address building as firetrucks raced to the scene.
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Fire climbs the Address hotel in Dubai, near the world’s tallest building. Witnesses said they heard explosions as the fire raged.
In under two minutes, the fire went up two-thirds of the length of the hotel.
In November, a massive blaze engulfed three residential blocs in central Dubai and led to services on a metro line being suspended, although no one was hurt.
The government of Dubai’s media office said on Twitter that one person had died after suffering a heart attack while trying to run away.
“I basically just strapped her to my back and took her down the stairs”.
Dubai’s economy depends heavily on tourism, and New Year’s is one of the busiest seasons, drawing people from around the world to watch the fireworks that the emirate puts on at the world’s tallest tower, as well as the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and over a man-made palm-shaped island.
Then she and others noticed flames at the hotel, and she and others were evacuated from the area. “They got us out calmly… quickly”.
“Half an hour later, they told us to get out of the mall because they were closing it down, he said, adding that people began running out”. It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured in the blaze.
On its website, the hotel says that its “spacious and bright rooms offer a dynamic sense of style and a striking design that appeals to all tastes across the global travel market”.
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The Address hotel describes itself as “the premier five-star hotel” in Dubai.
