Hundreds Evacuated As Fire Rips Through One Of The World's Tallest Residential Buildings In Dubai

Hundreds of residents were evacuated from one of the world's tallest residential buildings after it was engulfed in flames in the early hours of this morning in Dubai. Pictures and video footage showed a large blaze ripping through multiple floors of the Marina Torch tower, a new tower in the expat-heavy Marina district of the city. More than a dozen fire trucks were able to extinguish the flames several hours after the fire alarm went off around 2am local time.

One eyewitness said flames shot out from two sides of the building as glass and metal rained down from near the summit of the 86-storey skyscraper, which stands more 330 metres tall (1,105 ft).

One British woman, who was asleep in the building when the fire broke out, told MailOnline: 'We just thought it was a false alarm at first, so left it for a couple of minutes as it went off at 2am, then when it didn't stop we realised we needed to go down.

'The lifts weren't working so we had to walk down 72 flights of stairs with everyone, that took about 10 minutes as there were people carrying their children and babies and people who just weren't fit enough to get down the stairs. 

'We got to the lobby and there were the firefighters but we couldn't exit at first because there were bits of the outside building falling to the floor at the door which were still on fire. Then they ran us out in little groups to across the street. 

And when we got outside we noticed that one of the corners was on fire and was spreading up the building. We were just trying to run as quick as we could.' 

Two residents of The Torch, who were evacuated from the building, were told the fire started on the 52nd floor. They said the flaming material fell and set lower parts of the building ablaze.

Steve Short, 53, of Liverpool, praised the work of firefighters who arrived quickly. He said fire alarms alerted residents to the blaze and building management sent workers knocking on doors to ensure residents got out.

Residents of at least one neighbouring tower were told to evacuate as a precaution because of strong winds, but they were later allowed back inside.

Culled from: DailyMail UK