Residents have been evacuated after a major fire engulfed a high-rise tower in theUnited Arab Emirates, the latest in a series of skyscraper blazes in the Gulf nation.
The streets around the building in Ajman, close to Dubai, were cordoned off by police as firefighters battled to control the blaze. According to the Khaleej Timestenants of the tower block have been evacuated.
Emergency services gave no details on casualties in tweets confirming the blaze.
Burning debris could be seen raining down in videos posted on social media. One user said on Twitter: “The air here reeks of burning plastic. Flames are roaring up the roadside frontage of the Ajman One tower”. Bismillah, a Pakistani tenant in the complex, told Gulf News her three children rushed down 19 floors to safety. “We were all very distraught, we have lost everything,” she said.
“My flat is completed gutted,” said another resident while wiping away tears. “I have lost everything including my documents and I have no place to stay.”
On New Year’s Eve firework displays were interrupted after a huge fire engulfed part of a luxury hotel in Dubai. It took four hours to put out the fire and there were no fatalities. The Dubai police said the blaze on New Year’s Eve started on the 20th floor of the building, which was a residential address. Footage uploaded to the internet shows huge flames rapidly climbing the hotel’s exterior from what appeared to be a terrace or balcony.
Dubai’s skyline has seen two similar fires in recent years and many of the city’s buildings have floors well out of reach of conventional firefighting equipment and rely on advanced sprinkler systems and other fire retardants.
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