Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Fire broke out Thursday in a residential building near Dubai's massive New Year's Eve fireworks display.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which ran up at least 20 stories of the building near the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper at 828 meters (905 yards).
Burning debris rained down from the building as firetrucks raced to the scene. It was not immediately clear if anyone was wounded in the blaze.
Dubai planned to wow spectators with three separate firework displays. The show was to begin at the Burj Khalifa, which organizers said was fitted with 400,000 LED lights. They said 1.6 tons of fireworks would be used in the display.
From there, the fireworks were to light up the sky around the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and later down near the Dubai Marina. Fireworks also will be on display in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the country of seven emirates.
The Dubai government media office tweeted that a “fire has been reported in the Address Downtown hotel. Authorities are currently on-site to address the incident swiftly and safely”.
Witnesses near the iconic Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, said huge flames could be seen billowing from the hotel.
Images aired on the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel showed a high-rise building with fire engulfing dozens of storeys.
