A fire that broke out in Dubai Mall this noon has been brought under control, the Dubai Media office has said. Shops that were shut briefly after the fire have reopened and escalators have started working, eye witnesses told Khaleej Times.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire had started in one of the restaurants in the largest mall in the world.

Fire engines and police vehicles rushed to the scene and evacuated visitors and ordered the closure of shops.

An eyewitness said he heard the mall management announcing about the fire around noon. “Then I saw the smoke. I heard that a restaurant on level two caught fire,” he said.

A female staff at one of the kiosks in the ground floor said the shops in the first and second levels were shut and shoppers were evacuated from those levels and the waterfall area. “I can still see the smoke spreading. And the smell of smoke is really bad. But a mall management representative just told me to stay open. It seems it will be cleared in an hour,” she said around 12.30pm.

Shoppers were seen running out in panic after the fire broke out. Emergency staff from the mall who are assisting the civil defence team to put out the fire were seen wearing masks.

Twitter was abuzz with tweets about the fire. “Fire at Dubai Mall!! I’m suffocating! EVERYONE IS RUNNING!!!” said a tweet. Another shopper reported the fire alarms ringing while she was at cafe.

Further details are awaited.

sajila@khaleejtimes.com