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Abu Dhabi High-Rise Tower Catches Fire, Beach Rotana Hotel Evacuated

Firefighters in Abu Dhabi are battling a construction site blaze that broke out Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of the neighboring Beach Rotana hotel.
Image: Smoke rises after a fire broke out in a building at Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi
Smoke rises after a fire broke out in a building at Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE.JACK JABBOUR / Reuters

Firefighters in Abu Dhabi are battling a blaze that broke out Tuesday in a high-rise building under construction in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The adjacent Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi hotel said in a statement that the fire started at 11:15 a.m. local time (3:15 a.m. ET) and that authorities ordered the hotel evacuated an hour and a half later.

Image: Smoke rises from a blaze in a high-rise building under construction in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Smoke rises from a blaze in a high-rise building under construction in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.Hasan Qureshi / AP

The Ministry of Interior posted images of thick white smoke billowing from the 28-floor building and officials and firefighters on the scene. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Cities in the fast-developing Emirates have been hit by a spate of fires in recent years, including one in a residential tower in Dubai last month and another at a luxury hotel next to the city's biggest shopping mall on New Year's Eve.