Unconfirmed reports said two of the killed were Indians.

The fire broke out at around 12:30 am local time (1400 IST) at the 21st floor of the 37-storey building at Dubai Marina, a new township coming up on the southern outskirts of the city, which has nearly 100 high-rise towers. Fire tenders reached the spot after nearly an hour.

Acting Indian Consul General B S Mubarak, who visited the hospitals in the evening, told PTI that 19 Indians were among the 41 workers admitted at Rashid Hospital.

Seventeen workers are undergoing treatment at Dubai hospital. Many of those injured are said to be critical.

Three of the workers died on the spot, while the fourth succumbed in the hospital.

Most of the Indian workers are reportedly from Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Civil defence and police officials worked for several hours to rescue the 300 labourers trapped in the building on Shaikh Zayed Road. Rescuers could be seen carrying injured workers on stretchers and putting them in ambulances.

Trapped workers waved towels at hovering helicopters or climbed toward the roof on scaffolding.

At the time of the incident, Chinese labourers were working on the floor, while the Indians were fixing glass on floors above.