High-rise tower catches fire in United Arab Emirates

A high-rise tower has caught fire in the United Arab Emirates.

Authorities said it wasn't immediately clear what caused the blaze.

The sides of the 48-floor Abbco Tower in Sharjah saw flames shoot up them. The city neighbours Dubai.

Firefighters and police surrounded the tower, as did curious onlookers.

The UAE, including skyscraper-studded Dubai, has suffered a spate of fires in its high-rises in recent years.

The reason for the blazes, building and safety experts say, is the material used for the buildings' sidings, called aluminium composite panel cladding.

While some types of cladding can be made with fire-resistant material, experts say those that have caught fire in the UAE and elsewhere weren't designed to meet stricter safety standards and often were put onto buildings without any breaks to slow or halt a possible blaze.

[Source: Stuff.co]