Fire engulfs Dubai hotel

A huge fire engulfed a high-rise hotel in central Dubai ahead of a New Year's Eve firework display last night.

Burning debris could be seen falling from the 300m-tall (1,000ft) building as firefighters tackled the blaze.

Officials later said 16 people were injured and the fire was under control. There is no word on the cause.

The blaze erupted near the world's tallest skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, where crowds had gathered to watch the fireworks display.

Up to two million people were expected in central Dubai for the festivities. People have been asked to leave the area around the Address Hotel, which has been evacuated.

Flames rapidly engulfed much of the building, a five-star hotel and apartment complex with more than 60 storeys, within 10 minutes.

The Dubai government tweeted (in Arabic) that the fire had started on the 20th floor and has now been mostly been extinguished.

However, eyewitnesses said the fire was still raging despite the speedy response of the emergency services.

A tourist, Michelle Duque 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."

Another tourist told the BBC that she saw lot of debris coming down from the building.

"The problem is people inside the Burj Khalifa cannot move anywhere because we [are] kind of waiting for the fireworks display."