Major blaze engulfs Zen Tower in Dubai Marina

A residential tower has caught fire in Dubai amid a sandstorm that has hit large parts of United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Videos of the blaze were widely shared on social media, showing the newly constructed Zen Tower in Dubai Marina engulfed in flames on Sunday morning.

The Dubai Civil Defence has been working to control the fire, the government-run Dubai Media Office said on Twitter.  

Hope everyone is safe fire in marina #dubai #dubaifire pic.twitter.com/9nFAujh56l

— Alex’s House of Social (@alexandramaia_) May 13, 2018

The cause of the fire remains unclear. Local media reported that the blaze started at approximately 11am (09:00 GMT).

“The building was evacuated safely and no injuries were reported,” Dubai Media Office tweeted.

Director of Dubai Civil Defence, Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, said firefighters were at the site of the fire within six minutes of the incident. 

“Despite the difficulty of air conditions and low level of visibility, the firefighters were able to efficiently control the incident in 45 minutes,” he told local media.  

Videos posted on social media also showed police halting the movement of vehicles across the road where the fire broke out. 

Dubai Civil Defence controls the fire that broke out in Zen Tower in the Dubai Marina area amidst extremely windy and dusty weather conditions; the building was evacuated safely and no injuries were reported. pic.twitter.com/Q1vONssMim

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) May 13, 2018

Dubai passed new fire safety rules in 2017, requiring buildings to install more fire-resistant cladding.

Authorities have previously acknowledged that at least 30,000 buildings across the UAE have cladding or panelling that safety experts have warned accelerates the spread of fires.