(CNN) A massive fire broke out Thursday night at the high-end Address hotel in downtown Dubai, the government of the United Arab Emirates’ most populous city said.
Video showed orange tentacles of flames swirling up the outside of several stories at the high-rise hotel’s midsection.
As many as four crews of firefighters are battling the blaze, the government said. Early reports from Dubai authorities said the fire started on the 20th floor.
The Address hotel describes itself as “the premier five-star hotel” in Dubai. It stands near the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper.
Maha Abouelnebin, who lives in Dubai, told CNN she was with her family having dinner in the hotel at 9:30 p.m. She saw what appeared to be a low flame and thought maybe someone was cooking something.
Then she said she realized, “Oh my God ... that’s a fire. ... We decided we needed to get out of there.”
She said that staff were very efficient in moving people out of the hotel. “They got us out calmly... quickly. We were impressed with how easy we got out of there.”
Some people were at the hotel to watch New Year’s fireworks that were scheduled for around midnight.
Information on whether anyone was injured wasn’t immediately available.
-Agencies
