Huge fire at Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi 'extinguished'

A large fire broke out at Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi water park on Friday afternoon, in the direction of the airport at about 2pm.

Thick black smoke was seen rising above the areas of Ferrari World and Yas Marina Circuit, a witness told The National.

Emergency services responded quickly to the blaze. Abu Dhabi Police sealed off routes around the theme park area, with traffic on Yas Bay redirected to allow emergency responders access to the scene.

It is understood that the fire broke out at an under-construction area of the visitor attraction, which opened in 2013.

A large fire broke out at Yas Waterword Abu Dhabi on Friday afternoon.

Thick, black smoke was seen billowing over Ferrari World and the Yas Marina Circuit from 2pm.

Emergency services responded quickly to the blaze.

It is understood the fire erupted at an under-construction area of the attraction.

Thick, black smoke fills the air. Tom Evans / The National

A fire at Yas Waterworld in Abu Dhabi. Janelle Meager / The National

Miral, the theme park's developer, announced plans in December for a 16,900-square-metre expansion to the attraction.

There are to be 18 new rides and attractions, as well as an addition of 3.3km of slides. The waterpark will include the UAE’s highest slide, and will be home to the GCC's first waterpark ride integrated within a waterslide complex.

Abu Dhabi Police said on social media that they put out the fire and no injuries were reported.

"Teams from Abu Dhabi Police and Abu Dhabi Civil Defence Authority have controlled the fire that broke out at a construction site adjacent to Yas Waterworld on Yas Island earlier today," police said on X. "The fire did not result in any injuries and has been successfully extinguished."

The customer service team at Zayed International Airport - which is about 12km away from the theme park - said its operations were unaffected by the fire.

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