Fire engulf Dubai hotel near world tallest building

Fire engulfed a 63-storey skyscraper in downtown Dubai on Thursday night, but there appeared to be no injuries, a civil defense official said. Large tongues of flame shooting skywards enveloped the luxury hotel and residential block, which lies across a plaza from the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, where people were gathering for a spectacular fireworks display due to mark the start of the New Year. "There are no injuries, thank God," Major General Rashed al-Matrushi, general director of the Dubai Civil Defence, told the pan-Arab television channel Al Arabiya. He said the festivities would go ahead despite the fire, saying: "Of course, it will not affect the celebration." The Dubai government's media office tweeted that civil defense teams were working to evacuate the 300-metre hotel and tackle the fire. It said the blaze had started on the 20th floor, on the outside of the tower, and that internal fire-fighting systems were operating to try to prevent it getting inside the hotel. Four fire brigade teams were at the site. Source from Yahoo! News