Blaze scare hits Dubai’s New Year celebrations

New Year’s celebrations went ahead in Dubai Thursday night despite the huge fire that engulfed a luxury hotel there, the spokeswoman for the government said.
“New Year’s celebrations will proceed according to schedule,” Mona Al-Marri was quoted by Al-Arabiya television as saying, before confirming on her Twitter account.
All residents evacuated safely from the area, said the police chief.
The 63-story Address Downtown hotel building was engulfed in flames across several storys as sirens wailed and helicopters hovered overhead, according to witnesses.
Sixteen people were injured in the fire, officials said.
Witness Raphael Slama earlier told AFP that the fire started at around 9.30 p.m. and rapidly spread upwards across dozens of floors.
The hotel is close to the Dubai’s iconic Burj Khalifa.
Source: Arab News