Blaze breaks out at Tamweel Towers in Dubai's JLT

A large fire broke out at the mixed-use Tamweel Towers in Dubai’s Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) development in the early hours of Sunday morning.

There are no immediate reports of casualties. Occupants of the 34-storey building - which includes 160 apartments, as well as retail- and office space – and two other buildings were evacuated.

According to eyewitness reports, the burning debris was responsible for spreading the fire to different floors. Falling debris was also a hazard for firefighters to deal with, and was responsible for setting cars alight at the building's base.

The JLT development includes numerous residential towers, offices and retail space, and several hotels and hotel apartments buildings, including Bonnington Hotel.

Bonnington general manager told Hotelier he was in close contact with JLT licensing authority Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).

“We will be helping as much as we can,” he added.

Photos on social media sites including Facebook and Twitter appear to show the fire starting in one of the upper stories, and spreading down the building. Photos taken this morning show the top two-thirds of the building largely gutted. The building continued to smoulder.