Hundreds of people were evacuated from a residential skyscraper in Dubai, after a fire broke out in the 75-storey high-rise building. According to reports, the fire started half-way up the Sulafa Tower in Dubai Marina, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Wednesday (20 July).

Local residents in the Marina district said that the flames "spread like wildfire", sending dense black smoke billowing into the air and debris falling onto roads and swimming pools below. Flaming debris also fell on to balconies on lower floors of the building, causing the fire to spread.

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The Dubai Media Office tweeted that the fire had been extinguished three hours after it started and no casualties had been reported, following a number of dramatic videos on social media showing the building engulfed in flames.

The 285m tall building - which is the 23rd tallest building in Dubai and 127th tallest in the world - is popular with expats and travelling businessmen. Residents were seen sitting on the roads beside the block as they watched the building ablaze.

One resident told Mirror.co.uk: " The fire started on the 35th floor, but we're not sure how yet. Most of the people who live there are standing outside watching the fire. The fire has spread down both sides of the building now and is getting worse.

"Residents in surrounding buildings are also now being evacuated because they are worried they may also catch fire. Debris is floating down from the building and is landing in neighbouring swimming pools."

It is the fifth skyscraper fire in the United Arab Emirates in recent years. In 2012, residents of the same block, were evacuated following a fire in an apartment on the 36th floor. On New Year's Eve, 2015, 16 people were injured following a blaze at the 63-storey five-star Address Hotel in central Dubai.

In February (2016), another blaze in a skyscraper in the Marina district, destroyed luxury flats in the Torch Tower.

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