A skyscraper fire has erupted in Dubai. According to NBC News, on Dec. 21, 2015, The Address Hotel and Mall is engulfed in flames. The 63-story hotel is in downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The hotel is across the plaza from the world’s largest building, the Burj Khalifa.
New Year’s Eve celebrations were set to begin with a fireworks display presented by the Buri Khalifa. Crowds had already begun to gather for the night’s revelry.
NBC News reports that Dubai Civil Defense officials have stated the New Year events will proceed as scheduled. Major General Rashed al-Matrushi, told Al Arabiya television, thankfully there were no injuries from the fire.
Dubai’s governmental media office used Twitter to release information about the fire, stating the fire and emergency teams were on site and dealing with the fire. The inferno apparently began outside the hotel on the 20th floor.
The media office announced, the fire did not spread indoors due to the internal fire extinguishers. “Four squads of firefighters are working to control [the] fire.”
An American citizen, Margaret Besheer, who is on vacation in Dubai told MSNBC that she was eating on a balcony above where the blaze began. She said, the fire spread quickly and engulfed the side of the building in less than seven minutes.
According to NBC News, The Address houses residences, retail and dining outlets as well as rentals. One of the restaurants in the building is run by Wolfgang Puck.
Inside the Planet will continue to update information as it becomes available.
By Cathy Milne
Sources:
NBC News: Fire Breaks Out in Dubai Skyscraper Near the Burj Khalifa
Image Courtesy of Jui Ito’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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