Massive Fire Engulfs 67-Story Apartment Building with Nearly 4,000 Residents, Took 6 Hours to Contain: 'It Was Terrifying'

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19 hours ago

A 67-story skyscraper went up in flames in Dubai on Friday, June 13
Rescue workers worked for six hours to ultimately contain the blaze
All 3,820 residents of the apartment building were successfully evacuatedA 67-story skyscraper containing 764 apartments went up in flames in Dubai.
The fire broke out at the Marina Pinnacle building in the Dubai Marina on the evening of Friday, June 13. Specialized teams successfully evacuated all 3,820 residents of the building, per multiple statements from Dubai's Media Office that were posted on social media.
The Media Office also shared several photos from the harrowing scene, one of which showed flames emanating from several floors.
In a follow-up post, the Media Office stated that ambulance teams and medical staff were 'on site to offer full medical and mental support to the safely evacuated residents.' They also said authorities were working with the building's developer to provide temporary housing for building residents.
Emergency services were ultimately able to fully extinguish the fire after six hours, according to an additional update.
Eyewitnesses told the Khaleej Times that the fire broke out at about 9:30 p.m. local time.
'I woke up from my sleep after smelling pungent smoke coming into my room. I heard my housemates calling me and we hurriedly went down the building in our pajamas,' one resident told the outlet.
She added, 'When we went down, we saw thick smoke coming from the upper level, possibly around the 60th or more floor.'
Another resident claimed that he and his wife initially assumed something was burning in their apartment.
'I was on the 24th floor with my wife when we started smelling something like burning wires around 9:45 p.m.,' the resident told the outlet in a follow-up story. 'We checked everything inside the apartment, including the kitchen, but found nothing.'
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He said that by the time they left their apartment, the stairwell was already filled with smoke, and so they were forced to take the elevator, which 'thankfully worked.'
"My wife felt dizzy from the smoke. We waited outside for nearly 45 minutes before booking a hotel. Later, we saw flames on the upper floors. It was terrifying," he said.
It is not yet clear what caused the fire, nor where it initially broke out within the building.
PEOPLE reached out to Tanami Properties, the company that owns the building, as well as the Dubai Civil Defense, which oversees fire and rescue operations, for comment, but did not receive an immediate response on Saturday, June 14.
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