Dubai's police chief said all the residents of the five-star hotel had been evacuated from the scene of the blaze, the cause of which was unknown and which had still not been extinguished some four hours after it broke out."The government tweeted that the hotel fire erupted on the 20th floor and affected only the outer facade of the building. It was later revealed to have been caused by a cigarette butt thrown into a bin. There were a lot of people who fainted and there were many ambulances" as well as "crowding and pushing."A video circulating on social media showed anxious shoppers at the huge nearby Dubai Mall as they rushed to get out, with a woman shouting: "Folks don't run."There were a lot of screams. don't panic"."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.""We were worried about casualties and afraid the celebrations would be cancelled.In February, a huge fire gutted one of the emirate's tallest buildings, destroying luxury flats in the Torch tower and triggering an evacuation of nearby blocs in the Dubai Marina neighbourhood -- a district popular among expatriates.And in 2012, a huge blaze gutted the 34-storey Tamweel Tower in the nearby Jumeirah Lake Towers district. "All the residents are out," General Khamis Matar al-Mzeima said. "It was mainly concentrated in the middle of the building.
Dubai's futuristic cityscape is famous for its hugely varied skyscrapers.Authorities said earlier Thursday that they had deployed thousands of security personnel to ensure visitors and residents could enjoy the New Year's festivities safely. The Address Downtown hotel is a few blocks from the iconic Burj Khalifa Dubai: A huge fire ripped through a luxury Dubai hotel Thursday night, injuring 16 people, just a few hours before the emirate celebrated the new year with a spectacular fireworks display nearby. A spectacular fireworks display kicked off as planned at midnight (2000 GMT), beginning at the 828 metre (2,700 foot) high Burj Khalifa before spreading across the skies of the cash-flush city above thousands of cheering spectators.."Until the fire is put out, we will not have information on what caused it," he added..""What was strange is that the fire was disappearing and then reappearing again," said Mohammed al-Majed, a Saudi tourist who was at the restaurant around a kilometre (mile) away.An AFP photographer at the scene said "it began in the China HARD BOX UNIT PACKINGS OF FIRE BLANKETS middle of the hotel, then went down like lightning before shooting up again."Four firefighting teams have been deployed" to fight the blaze, it added.- History of skyscraper fires -The hotel is one of the tallest buildings in Dubai, with seven lounges and restaurants as well as a beauty spa, according to its website.
