Blaze rips through Dubai's Torch Tower - in pictures

A fire broke out at Torch tower in Dubai, one of the world’s tallest residential buildings, in the early hours of this morning

A massive fire rips through TheTorch tower's southern corner in Dubai Marina. Antonie Robertson / The National

A fire broke out at Torch tower in Dubai, one of the world’s tallest residential buildings, in the early hours of this morning.

Videos circulated online show the fire rapidly spread upwards as large quantities of burning debris fell onto the streets below.

The Dubai building was struck by a fire in 2015 and is currently undergoing restorative work.

One eye witness, Rob Shepherd, wrote on Twitter, "We're out but people are in tears... cars are exploding all around now... being moved further away".

No causalities have been reported so far and many have been evacuated from the building.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

By 3.40am local time, the Dubai Media Office reported that the Dubai Civil Defence had brought the fire under control and that cooling operations were underway.

The Dubai Police Commander in Chief and Dubai Civil Defence Director General were reportedly on the scene as measures to control the fire at the tower were underway.

The Dubai Media Office also confirmed that Dubai authorities were working on providing shelter at the Princess Tower for those affected by the Torch Tower fire.

Some locals also posted on social media offering help and rooms to The Torch's residents.

The tower became the tallest residential building in the world in 2011 but was surpassed in 2012 by the nearby 23 Marina and Princess Tower directly across the street.

The Torch is 1,105 ft tall, with 79 floors above ground.

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