A huge fire has broken out in a luxury hotel next to the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest skyscraper. The fire reportedly started on the 20th floor of the 63-storey Address Downtown hotel. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, reported The Guardian.
The Dubai government's media office said on Twitter that there were 14 minor injuries, one moderate injury and one heart-attack case reported due to over-crowding and smoke at the fire site. It also said that civil defense teams were working to evacuate the hotel. The Dubai police said the fire was only along the exterior of the hotel and had not spread inside.
The Burj Khalifa is the venue of a massive fireworks show every New Year's Eve. Last year, Dubai broke the world record for the largest fireworks display on New Year’s Eve. The Dubai media office said that the New Year celebrations will go ahead as scheduled, in spite of the fire breaking out hours before midnight. The Burj Khalifa was reportedly fitted with 400,000 LED lights for the show, along with 1.6 tonnes of fireworks.
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