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Fire breaks out near Dubai's New Year's fireworks display

<p>The excitement surrounding one of the largest and most popular New Year's Eve celebrations in the Middle East was a little spoiled after a fire at the Address Hotel in Dubai. (Video via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTaBBrQRUNA" target="_blank">Government of Dubai Media Office</a>) </p><p>According to the government's media office, <a href="https://twitter.com/DXBMediaOffice/status/682631381294301184" target="_blank">the fire started outside the hotel on the 20th floor</a> but never spread inside. <a href="https://twitter.com/DXBMediaOffice/status/682645719904194560" target="_blank">Fourteen injuries were reported</a>, but the government says all of those people received medical attention. (Video via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9C9VFUBFoI" target="_blank">CNN</a>)</p><p>The fire started shortly before the fireworks began with people already lining up to see the show. </p><p>"I turned around and saw what y'all are seeing pictures of and within 10 seconds it went from 'wow, it's a fire' to 'we need to not be where we are,'" Josh Gatlin, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/12/31/dubai-address-hotel-witness-intv-josh-gatlin.cnn/video/playlists/dubai-address-hotel-fire/" target="_blank">an American in Dubai, told CNN</a>. </p><p>Despite the hotel being just about a mile away, <a href="https://twitter.com/DXBMediaOffice/status/682632477974740992" target="_blank">the government decided the fire wasn't enough</a> to stop the party. (Video via <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTaBBrQRUNA" target="_blank">Government of Dubai Media Office</a>) </p><p>This is the second time this year a fire has stared at one of Dubai's huge skyscrapers. On Feb. 21, a fire at the Marina Torch Tower is said to have <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2979720/British-flight-attendant-questioned-Dubai-blaze-ripped-86-storey-tower-police-reveal-fire-started-apartment.html" target="_blank">destroyed more than 100 apartments</a>, leaving some residents still homeless to this day. </p><p>Guests at the Address Hotel <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fire-breaks-out-dubai-skyscraper-near-burj-khalifa-n488586" target="_blank">were evacuated</a> and placed elsewhere by the Dubai Department of Tourism. So far, no word on what caused the fire. The government says <a href="https://twitter.com/DXBMediaOffice/status/682636853665738753" target="_blank">90 percent of the fire is contained</a>. (Video via <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/fire-breaks-out-dubai-skyscraper-near-burj-khalifa-n488586" target="_blank">NBC</a>) </p><p><i>This video includes images from Getty Images. </i></p>
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A massive fireworks display kicked off for New Year's at the world's tallest tower in Dubai, while plumes of smoke billowed in the air from a fire raging at a nearby luxury tower.

Tens of thousands of people whistled and cheered at the show taking place at the Burj Khalifa skyscraper as teams of firefighters were working to put out the blaze that had engulfed a 63-story luxury hotel and residential building. Just minutes before the fireworks began, large explosions could be heard from inside the burning building, which was cloaked in thick black smoke. It was not clear what caused the blasts.

At least 14 people were slightly injured and one person suffered a heart attack from the smoke and over-crowding during evacuation late Thursday, according to Dubai Media Office. The statement said another person was moderately injured, without elaborating further. No children were among those injured, it said.

Witnesses tweet amazing photos of New Year's Eve fire in Dubai

Around 1 million people had been expected to gather around the Burj Khalifa to watch the fireworks. Dubai's economy depends heavily on tourism, and New Year's is one of the busiest seasons, drawing people from around the world to watch the fireworks that the emirate puts on at the world's tallest tower, as well as the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and over a man-made palm-shaped island.

Organizers had installed 400,000 LED lights on the Burj Khalifa and used some 1.6 tons of fireworks for the seven-minute extravaganza. Two years ago on New Year's, Dubai broke the world record for the largest fireworks display.

The fire engulfed the Address Downtown, one of the most upscale hotels and residences in Dubai, which was likely to have been packed with people because of its clear view of the 828-meter (905-yard) tall Burj Khalifa.

The hotel towers over the Souq Al Bahar, a popular shopping area with walkways that connect to the Burj Khalifa and the Middle East's largest mall, the Dubai Mall.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which ran up the 63-story building. The Address is a 991 foot-tall (302-meter) skyscraper that has 626 luxury apartments and 196 hotel rooms, according to Skyscraper Center, which tracks such buildings.

Dubai's Media Office wrote on its official Twitter account that four teams of firefighters were working to put out the blaze. They said the fire appears to have originated on a 20th floor terrace.

The fire broke out about two hours before the midnight fireworks display was set to begin. To manage the crowds, Dubai police had closed off some roads and the metro before the fire broke out.

Nearly an hour after the fire began, some onlookers began to leave while others stood, pressed against crowd barricades, watching the blaze. Among them was Chris Browne, a tourist from London, who watched with her husband, Stephen, standing behind her. They said they hoped no one was injured.

"It's pretty scary stuff," she said.

Standing nearby, Stuart O'Donnell, a British intensive care nurse who works in Dubai, said he was worried for those inside the building as it was in a prime location to watch the fireworks display.

"You feel sad for the people inside... It spread so quickly when it started," he said.

He and others in the crowd wondered what had started the blaze. "I do feel suspicious of when a fire breaks out on New Year's Eve," he said.

The Dubai Media Office said that Dubai's tourism department would provide guests evacuated from the building with alternative hotel accommodation.

After the fireworks show, Girlie Omilda, a Filipina who works in the aviation industry in Dubai, said she was glad to have seen the fireworks, even as the tower continued to burn. She too was concerned about threats from extremists like the Islamic State group. She said Dubai's large expatriate, non-Muslim population made the city a tempting target.

"Sometimes it makes me feel unsafe," she said.