Dubai's Torch Tower has caught fire for the second time in two years, authorities in the United Arab Emirates have said.
Social media was filled with images of the 79-storey skyscraper ablaze, with flaming debris falling from the building to the ground below.
"The fire at the Torch Tower has been brought under control. Cooling operations are under way. No injuries have been reported," reported the Dubai Media Office.
Firefighters in the Emirate had the blaze under control at around 3.30am local time, and the building was evacuated safely and quickly with no injuries or casualties.
Dubai Police Chief Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri said "Because of the efforts of all teams on the ground, the residents were evacuated from this building to another one and there were no injuries."
Credit: PA
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The fire had begun several hours earlier, late Thursday night, at around 1am.
A second fire broke out in the street, caused by burning debris, and photographs of damaged cars were posted to social media.
The building tops out at 337m and was the tallest residential building in the world when it was built, though it has been subsequently overtaken by two other skyscrapers in Dubai. The Torch Tower has 676 apartments and is home to hundreds of expats.
"Terrifying to see Torch Tower, in the area I live in (Dubai Marina) on fire now. I am on holidays in Ireland atm. Hope everyone gets out ok," tweeted Cara Spillane, an expat who lives in the area.
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"Woke up to the crazy sirens in the neighborhood - yet another fire at the Torch tower in Marina. Hope everyone is safe." added Twitter user @dinakfouri.
Credit: PA
Hundreds of people were evacuated in 2015 when the tower caught fire for the first time. The spread of that fire, similar to the Grenfell Tower disaster in London in June, was linked to external cladding that can cause the fire to take hold quickly.
A 63-storey Dubai luxury hotel caught fire as Dubai celebrated New Years Eve last year, again with no injuries or deaths reported.
Dubai skyscrapers are equipped with smoke-free, fire-proof safety zones that allow residents to safely exit the building in case of fire, while simultaneously allowing firefighters to combat the blaze and limit damage.
The Emirate changed its building regulations as a result, making illegal the external cladding that is thought to exacerbate fires. Some 30,000 buildings in Dubai alone are thought to have some form of cladding that can spread fire.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: World News, Dubai, Fire