Videos circulating online show how a fire tore through a high-rise residential building in the United Arab Emirates early on Tuesday before being put out.
The fire in Ajman, one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, which also includes the cutting-edge cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, did not immediately result in any reports of casualties.
The video showed a corner of the building completely consumed in flames, which rose all the way to the top.
Debris was falling to the street below.
Local media site Ajman News afterwards claimed that the fire had been put out.
Firefighters on the street below were visible in footage posted on its Instagram account showing the building’s charred facade.
UAE officials did not immediately respond with a statement. Similar fires that have been connected to combustible cladding on several of the country’s ubiquitous high-rises have occurred in the UAE several times in recent years.
On New Year’s Eve 2015, a fire raged through a posh hotel and apartment building next to Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the highest building in the world.
Fifteen people were hurt during the evacuation and the fire. The fire was ultimately attributed to exposed wires by Dubai police.
All of this cladding must be replaced with flame-resistant material, according to regulations put in place following that disaster.
A massive fire engulfs a residential high-rise in the United Arab Emirates' northern city of Ajman pic.twitter.com/Ter6dQJLtU
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 27, 2023
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