Firefighters in Abu Dhabi are battling a blaze that broke out in a high-rise building under construction in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The adjacent Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi hotel said the fire started at 11.15am on Tuesday and authorities ordered the hotel evacuated 90 minutes later.

The Ministry of Interior posted images of thick smoke billowing from the building and officials and firefighters on the scene. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Cities in the fast-developing Emirates have been hit by a spate of fires in recent years, including one in a residential tower in Dubai last month and another at a luxury hotel next to the city's biggest shopping mall on New Year's Eve.

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