Happening Now! Fire guts Dubia hotel ahead of New Year celebrations

A 1000 feet tall building in Dubia is on fire.

The Address, as the building is called, is near the tallest skyscraper in the world – the Burj Khalifa where a major New Year’s Eve fireworks display is scheduled to hold.

Crowds gathering to watch the display have been asked to leave as fire fighters arrived at the scene, the BBC is reporting.

Fire appeared to have engulfed much of the building, which has more than 60 storeys and is a luxury five-star hotel and apartment complex.

The cause of the fire is yet unknown.

The Dubai government tweeted (in Arabic) that the fire had started on the 20th floor.

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A tourist, Michelle Duque, who is visiting Dubai, told the BBC:

All of a sudden we saw this huge black plume of black smoke coming between the Khalifa Tower and the hotel. The flames burst out really big and before we knew it the whole of the Address Hotel was covered in orange flames.

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