UAE skyscraper fire: Hundreds forced to flee after high-rise building engulfed in flames

There have been no reports of immediate casualties

Hundreds of people were fored to flee a skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates after it was engulfed in flames.

A video posted online shows the blaze climbing the side of the skyscraper sending burning debris down to the street below.

The incident took place in Ajman, the smallest of the seven emirates that make up the UAE.

UAE interior minister, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has gone to Ajman to co-ordinate the response to the blaze.

Local police closed off a major road near the building causing traffic build-up. Many people living in Ajman commute to work in the commercial hub of Dubai.

Officials confirmed there were no immediate reports of casualties.

It is the fourth major high-rise fire in the past three years.

On New Year's Eve, a blaze gutted the exterior of the prominent 63-storey hotel, the Address Downtown Dubai.

in February last year, a fire broke out at a 79-storey residential building in Dubai, and in November 2012, a 34-storey Dubai residential building was partially gutted.

According to building safety experts, the fires are partly caused by the aluminum composite panel cladding commonly used to cover buildings in UAE.

Fire and smoke billow from a high-rise building in Ajman, United Arab Emirates (AP)

Some of these panels have a flammable core which can burn rapidly after being ignited, which means fires spread quickly if there are not enough fire breaks

It is not yet known if this skyscraper in Ajman had this type of cladding.