Internet city: Tower blaze

A second skyscraper fire in as many years erupted atop a 47-storey building in Dubai Internet City yesterday.

Smoke billowed from the rooftop of the 195-metre tall (640 feet) Al Salam Tecom Towers.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze later in the day, "No one was injured," said a Civil Defence spokesman. The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

Sirens pierced the air as dozens of firefighting vehicles raced to the scene around 2.30pm.

Rubberneckers pulled their vehicles over and called authorities as hundreds of bystanders watched.

Emirati Nasser Al Hager, 25, was travelling with friends when they looked up and saw the menacing trail of smoke trailing off to the south.

"When we first got here the smoke was really black, it was really bad," said Al Hager.

"I think it is very weird to have two fires in two towers within two kilometres of each other," he said. "It seems like it is too soon."

Al Hager was referring to the January 2007 fire at the nearby Fortune Towers which killed two workers and injured dozens.

Belhasa Engineering & Contracting Company, the contractors for the building, couldn't be reached for comment.