A major fire has broken out in Dubai’s Torch Tower, one of the world’s tallest buildings.
Dubai’s police said firefighters were on the scene and that no injuries have been reported so far.
The Torch Tower is one of the world’s tallest residential towers at more than 80 storeys high, and is located in Dubai’s popular Marina neighbourhood. At one stage more than 40 floors of the 86-storey tower were ablaze.
#dubai#fire#marina#torch#building pic.twitter.com/hHIKi4wLE0
— mira majbour🎀 (@miramajbour) August 3, 2017
Dubai’s Civil Defence announced at 3.30am local time that the blaze was under control. Officials are now working on providing shelter for those affected.
The fire comes only two years after hundreds of people were evacuated in 2015 from the same building when a massive fire swept through the tower. Building and safety experts have cited a popular type of cladding covering the buildings that can be highly flammable.
Earlier this year, Dubai imposed new fire safety rules requiring buildings with quick-burn side panelling to replace it with more fire-resistant siding.
