KABUL: (MEP) A giant fire has broken down at ‘The Address Downtown Dubai hotel’ on New Year’s Eve, into a towering inferno that lit up the skyline as midnight neared in the United Arab Emirates.
On Friday, social media users began posting photos of a new fire at the already ravaged 5-star facility.
It’s not yet clear what caused the fire or how many people were injured. According to tweets from the Dubai government’s media office, the fire is on the outside of the building and hasn’t spread inside.
The firefighters were fighting till late trying to extinguish the blaze in the building and 14 to 16 people were reported wounded in the fire, according to initially reports. However the exact number of casualties are still remain unknown.
The injured were shifted to hospitals and later all have been discharged except for a pregnant women and an elderly man who were said to be “well” but were kept in “to ensure their safety”, the civil defence said.
The Address Downtown would have been a prime spot for viewing the midnight fireworks display, centred at the nearby Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
The Address Downtown boasts a luxury hotel with nearly 200 rooms, along with more than 600 residential units. Rentals of a one-bedroom can run $70,000 a year.
Dubai Civil Defence said the fire appeared to have started on the 20th-floor terrace, according to a statement by the government media office.
Witnesses who saw the blaze start said they believed it began on the building’s ground floor.
Civil defence said “cooling procedures” were still under way on Friday, and that the investigation was under way into the cause.
Around one million people had been expected to gather around the Burj Khalifa skyscraper to watch the fireworks.
