Fire broke out Thursday in an upscale hotel near Dubai's massive New Year's Eve fireworks display, where hundreds of thousands of people are gathered for celebrations, Al-Arabiya reported.
Dubai civil defense said that there had been no casualties so far and that 75 percent of the blaze at the Address Hotel was under control. Four teams of firefighters are attempting to put out the blaze.
The media office of Dubai government said in a statement that the blaze was "external." There are reports that the fire could have come from the building's large terrace area several storeys up.