Towering inferno in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - A 63-story luxury hotel was engulfed in flames even as a massive New Year's fireworks display kicked off at the world's tallest skyscraper nearby, while tens of thousands of people whistled and cheered at early Friday's pyrotechnics.

Just minutes before the fireworks began in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai, large explosions could be heard from inside the burning building, which was cloaked in thick black smoke. Other blasts followed later during the night. It was not clear what caused them.

At least 14 people were slightly injured, and one person suffered a heart attack from the smoke and over-crowding during an evacuation late Thursday, according to the Dubai Media Office. The statement said another person was moderately injured, without elaborating further. No children were among those injured, it said.

Around one million people had been expected to gather around the Burj Khalifa skyscraper to watch the fireworks. Dubai's economy depends heavily on tourism, and New Year's is one of the busiest seasons, drawing people from around the world to watch the fireworks that the emirate puts on at the world's tallest tower, as well as the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab and over a man-made palm-shaped island.

Organizers had installed 400,000 LED lights on the Burj Khalifa and used about 1.6 tons of fireworks for the seven-minute extravaganza. Two years ago on New Year's, Dubai broke the world record for the largest fireworks display.

The fire engulfed the Address Downtown, one of the most upscale hotels and residences in Dubai, which was likely to have been packed with people because of its clear view of the Burj Khalifa.

The hotel towers over the Souq Al Bahar, a popular shopping area with walkways that connect to the Burj Khalifa and the Middle East's largest mall, the Dubai Mall.

It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which ran up the 63-story building. The Address is a 991-foot-tall skyscraper that has 626 luxury apartments and 196 hotel rooms, according to Skyscraper Center, which tracks such buildings.

The Dubai Media Office wrote on its official Twitter account that four teams of firefighters were working to put out the blaze. They said the fire appeared to have originated on a 20th-floor terrace, though witnesses who saw the blaze start said they believed it began on the building's ground floor. No one offered a cause for the fire.

Nearly an hour after the fire began, some onlookers began to leave as others stood, pressed against barricades, watching the blaze. Among them was Chris Browne, from London, who watched with her husband, Stephen, standing behind her. They said they hoped no one was injured. "It's pretty scary stuff," she said.