A building in flames is shown in this picture posted on Twitter.

Witnesses and local media say a fire has broken out on a skyscraper in the Emirati city of Sharjah, near Dubai.

Photos posted on social media Thursday show thick black smoke billowing from a fire licking up several stories of the tower’s facade.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. The Sharjah civil defense directorate had no immediate comment.

Fires have affected several skyscrapers in the Emirates, including a February blaze that broke out at Dubai’s 86-story Torch tower, one of the world’s tallest residential towers. There were no major casualties in that fire.

Related articles across the web

• Skyscraper Curse Signal in China
• Geeks on a Plane (#GOAP)
• Saudi Arabia: 87 dead in crane collapse at Mecca mosque
• Son of ruler of Dubai dead at 34 from apparent heart attack
• Saudi Arabia Says Hundreds of Pilgrims Dead in Hajj Stampede
• Saudi Arabia says 310 pilgrims dead in hajj stampede
• Photographer films moment he balances above New York's Times Square
• High art appears on office tower
• Construction crane collapses at Mecca mosque; 87 dead
• Message from UAE Government