SkyCity Hotel evacuated as smoke billows from vents

Auckland's SkyCity Hotel was evacuated this morning after smoke was detected.

Smoke billowed out of vents on the side of the building on Victoria St, as hundreds of confused onlookers watched about 15 firefighters work to stop the smoke.

SkyCity spokeswoman Rebecca Foote said smoke had been detected in the hotel's generator room and the hotel was evacuated as a precaution. Sky Tower was not evacuated.

Foote said workers were testing a generator that had problems this year.

"We were testing that it had been fixed but obviously not," she said.