Dubai, UAE, Feb 21: A fire erupted early Saturday morning at the Marina Torch in Dubai, the 79-floor skyscraper that is among the world’s tallest residential buildings. According to a report in the English-language Gulf News, hundreds were evacuated from the building but high winds hindered firefighters’ initial efforts to contain the blaze. It has since been extinguished, according to local witnesses.
Resident Kathryn Dickie told ABC News that the building’s fire alarms started blaring about 2 a.m. She lives on the 13th foor.
"The guards were pretty frantic," she said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries in the blaze. The building is part of the densely populated and highrise-filled marina district, popular among Dubai’s ex-patriate population.
Those nearby have flooded social media with frightening and spectacular images of the fire.