A 45-story skyscraper was ravaged by fire in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, May 5, 2020. - Khaleej Times / video capture

The images raised fears of the worst. A 45-story apartment building in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, north of Dubai, was engulfed in flames on Tuesday evening. According to the Khaleej Times , the fire was able to be brought under control by the firefighters, notably thanks to drones, but the disaster caused great damage. The authorities did not give an assessment immediately.

#Sharjah Civil Defense firefighters are close to overpowering the blaze. But the tower seems badly damaged by the #fire https://t.co/8f4ND1H1z8 pic.twitter.com/EG07xsatoz

- Vicky Kapur (@vickykapur) May 5, 2020

Fire breaks out in Sharjah building

Details ... https: //t.co/ECgPVKKWVk

Video by Abhishek Sen Gupta / Khaleej Times pic.twitter.com/aEyzjbihPh

- Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) May 5, 2020

According to the Gulf News site, the fire started at 9:04 p.m. (7:04 p.m. Paris time). The Abbco Tower has 45 floors, 36 of which are residential, for a total of more than 400 apartments. An unknown number of residents of the tower and neighboring buildings have been evacuated.

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