DUBAI, Jan 1 (Reuters)—Firefighters on Friday appeared to have mostly extinguished a fire that suddenly covered one of Dubai’s most well-known skyscrapers on New Year’s Eve, witnesses said.
White smoke still came out from the burned 63-storey Address Downtown Dubai hotel and residential block at daybreak, but civil defense crews had mostly extinguished the flames which broke out around 2130 (1730 GMT).
Witnesses reported seeing flames coming out from a lower part of the building as late as around noon local time, but a hotel spokesperson said the situation was under control. “The fire in the hotel has been controlled. We would like to express our gratitude to the authorities for their immediate and professional support. An investigation is ongoing,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
Dubai police said on Thursday that the building was emptied and 14 people were lightly injured. A medical worker at the scene said more than 60 people were treated for mild smoke inhalation(吸入) and problems caused by crowding as they fled.
The New Year’s fireworks display at the nearby Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is one of Dubai’s most celebrated annual ceremony and attracted thousands of spectators—most of whom were sent to safer places before the event went on as scheduled. Live TV broadcasts of the most luxury show appeared to show only a few dozen people in the vast viewing place near the tower.
Dubai, among the most open and peaceful cities in the war-battered(饱受战乱的) Middle East, is proud of itself as a tourist and business center. But the metropolis, one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), may face questions about the safety of its rapidly-constructed cityscape, especially after another high-rise building caught fire earlier this year. Security officials said the conflagration began on the outside of the structure at the 20th floor, and the deputy chief of police said the investigation into its cause was underway.
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