A MASSIVE fire has erupted at the 63-story luxury Address Hotel in Dubai.
Dramatic images have shown the 302-metre high building in flames, although no injuries have been reported.
It is unclear what will happen to the structure as the building continues to burn, although officials in Dubai plan to continue the nearby New Year's Eve festivities as planned.
The five star hotel is minutes from the the world's tallest skyscraper - the Burj Khalifa -where the New Year's display is due to begin at 8pm UK time
The fire began at about 9.30pm, and is said to have taken hold of the outside of the building within minutes.
Tom Stroud, 35, an eyewitness who is on holiday in Dubai, said: "There was no bang or bomb-like sound, we just looked over and saw an inferno.
"It gathered speed extremely quickly."
Atieh S (@AtiehS), who watched from a nearby building, said the fire took hold in just five minutes.
She tweeted: "People are running away! This is so horrific!!!!! Falling on people's houses."
Michelle Duque, a tourist visiting Dubai, told the BBC: "All of a sudden we saw this huge black plume of black smoke coming between the Khalifa Tower and the hotel.
"The flames burst out really big and before we knew it the whole of the Address Hotel was covered in orange flames."
Burning debris rained down from the building in Downtown Dubai as fire trucks raced to the scene.
The fire erupted as Dubai prepared to hold a major New Year's Eve fireworks display.
The hotel and residential compound has nearly 200 rooms and over 600 apartments.
Reports have emerged to say that The Address has been evacuated, and people are being moved out of the Dubai Mall located nearby.
Currently there are at least four firefighting brigades at the site to deal with the blaze and ensure the safety of everyone, according to the Dubai government's media office.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which covered at least 20 stories of the building.
Early reports suggested the fire was under control although live footage and images suggest the blaze is ongoing.
Scott Sashua, a guest at The Address, wrote on Twitter: "Our whole hotel has just gone up in flames just as we was about to tuck in to our NYE dinner #TheAddressDubai."
Eyewitness John Dalziel said he had been told that the fire started on one of the hotel's balconies.
The hotel tweeted: "A fire has been reported in the Address Downtown hotel.
"Authorities are currently on-site to address the incident swiftly and safely #Dubai."
In February, a massive fire broke out in the Marina Torch, a residential skyscraper at the Dubai Marina. The residents were evacuated and no fatalities were reported in that incident.
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