New Year's Eve hotel fire in Dubai due to electrical fault
An electrical short circuit has been identified as the cause of the fire that swept through the Address Downtown Dubai hotel in a skyscraper on New Year's Eve.
The building, which contains the 196-bedroom hotel and 626 serviced apartments, was evacuated as guests were gathering for New Year's Eve celebrations and for a view of the firework displays on Jumeirah Beach and at the nearby Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building.
Fifteen people were injured and one man suffered a heart attack during the evacuation.
It is believed that an electrical fault in a spotlight used to illuminate the hotel was responsible for the fire, which started on a ledge between the 14th and 15th floors of the 63-storey, 302-metre building, according to the department of forensic science and criminology of the Dubai Police.
Emaar Properties, which owns and operates the hotel under its Address Hotels + resorts brand, said that "preliminary work is already under way to reopen the hotel and to restore the project to its glory using the best in design, quality and technology".
In addition to Address Hotels + Resorts, Emaar also operates Armani Hotels and the newly launched Vida Hotels and Resorts.