A tiny terrace fire overtook an entire skyscraper in Dubai yesterday evening, with thousands fleeing for safety as The Address Hotel went up in flames.

It's thought 16 people were injured in the fire, which took 3.5 hours to be put under control. Original reports suggested one person had died in the blaze but this was not officially confirmed.

The entire left side of the 63-storey hotel, which is located near the famous Burj Khalifa, was destroyed when the fire broke out around 5.30pm local time yesterday.

This photo shows what's believed to be the origin of the blaze – a small fire on a covered terrace on a lower part of the building.

Earlier this morning, smoke could still be seen pouring from the building, which thankfully did not collapse in the fire.

Irishman Kenneth Flynn told The Telegraph how he briefly got lost from his girlfriend in the chaos as people tried to escape the burning building.

"I went outside to have a look and by the time I walked out the whole building was just ablaze. The heat was so intense outside.

"By the time I came back in I had lost her [his girlfriend] because the whole place was in panic and people were crushing each other trying to get out and get down the stairs and jumping over railings, I couldn’t believe how fast it actually happened."