Dubai's $2.5 billion Atlantis hotel partly gutted

Dubai, Sep 3: The 2.5 billion dollars Atlantis Hotel on the the prestigious Palm Jumeirah here was partly gutted after a huge fire broke out in the lobby of the five-star resort. Police said nobody was killed or injured in the blaze. A source based at Atlantis told Gulf News on Tuesday, Sep 2 that the hotel's opening was likely to be delayed for between three and six months.

The hotel resort is home to one of the worl'd biggest water tanks, the Ambassador Lagoon which holds 11 million litres of water and 65000 fish and boasts 1539 rooms in total. According to police 270 people - mostly employees and family members residing in the hotel - were evacuated. Residents travelling to work in the morning reported seeing huge plumes of black smoke billowing from Atlantis. Tailbacks formed on the Palm's main arterial route as security staff ordered vehicles to turn back while denying journalists and photographers access to the resort.

Slack safety measures have led to frequent fires in Dubai in recent years. A fire in a labour accommodation in Dubai last month killed ten Indians. Dubai had about 12 fire accidents this year so far.

UNI