Fire outbreak in Dubai Hotel

The people of Dubai wanted to celebrating the brand new year with colorful fireworks — but not like this: a monstrous blaze has broken out in The Address Hotel. This record-setting fire is burning close to the tallest building in the world and authorities are still trying to find out the origin behind this New Year’s Eve disaster.

The blaze broke out in the late hours of Dec. 31, reports the New York Post. The hotel is close to Burj Khalifa, the 903-yard-tall skyscraper. The city was preparing to launch 1.6 tons of fireworks in a breathtaking display to ring in 2016, but the sky was suddenly lit up with hellfire and smoke. Crowds of people fled the burning building, trying to avoid any possible flaming debris.

ne witness claimed an explosion was heard before the fire started, though this account remains unverified. The actual cause of the fire is unknown as the time, though it may take a while before authorities determined if this was an accident or possibly arson. You can click here to see recorded video of the fire, as onlookers documented the fire from a safe distance.

Michelle Duque, a tourist visiting Dubai at the time of the fire, told the BBC, “All of a sudden we saw this huge black plume of black smoke coming between the Khalifa Tower and the hotel. The flames burst out really big and before we knew it the whole of the Address Hotel was covered in orange flames.”

We will continue to update this story as further details are revealed, HollywoodLifers. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those possibly involved in this horrifying event.