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21 April 2023
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Fire in Beijing hospital kills 29, China
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A fire in a Beijing hospital has killed 29 people on Tuesday, 18 April 2023. Emergency response teams first received word just before 13h00 that a fire had broken out at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital in the capital city's Fengtai District. The fire broke out on the east wing of the inpatient department of the seven-storey building. Authorities said the fire was brought under control in roughly 30 minutes. A preliminary investigation points towards renovation works having started the fire, with sparks igniting paint. At least 29 people died due to the fire. During the fire, people sought refuge by perching on air conditioning units outside the hospital and jumped off bedsheets hanging from windows in a desperate bid to shelter from the flames as the building spewed black smoke.
The fire was extinguished about half an hour later and rescue efforts continued for about another two hours, by which time a total of 71 patients had been evacuated and taken to another location. Early on Wednesday, 39 injured were still in hospital, three in critical condition and 18 serious, the officials told the briefing.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that out of the 29 dead, 26 were patients at the hospital, two were hospital staff and one was a patient's family member.
Li Zongrong, deputy mayor of Beijing’s western Fengtai district where the hospital is located, expressed his “deep condolences” as he announced the new toll at a press conference on Wednesday.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that preliminary investigations suggested the blaze had been caused by “sparks generated during the internal renovation and construction of the inpatient department of the hospital”. The sparks “ignited the volatiles of the flammable paint on the site”, it said.
Beijing Changfeng Hospital is in the capital's western urban area, about 25 minutes by car from central Tiananmen Square.
Top city officials visited the site shortly after the fire with Beijing party secretary Yin Li promising to “quickly identify the cause of the accident and hold the relevant responsible persons accountable”.
On Wednesday, Sun Haitao from Beijing’s public security bureau announced 12 people, including the facility’s director, had been detained in connection with the fire and that representatives from the company renovating the hospital were also being held.
Investigation launched
Dozens of onlookers gathered outside the entrance to the hospital on Wednesday, according to the AFP news agency, after the city’s deadliest fire in at least 20 years. The facility was cordoned off and police officers were stationed at the gate to discourage people from taking photos.
Sources: Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Reuters
The fire was extinguished about half an hour later and rescue efforts continued for about another two hours, by which time a total of 71 patients had been evacuated and taken to another location. Early on Wednesday, 39 injured were still in hospital, three in critical condition and 18 serious, the officials told the briefing.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that out of the 29 dead, 26 were patients at the hospital, two were hospital staff and one was a patient's family member.
Li Zongrong, deputy mayor of Beijing’s western Fengtai district where the hospital is located, expressed his “deep condolences” as he announced the new toll at a press conference on Wednesday.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that preliminary investigations suggested the blaze had been caused by “sparks generated during the internal renovation and construction of the inpatient department of the hospital”. The sparks “ignited the volatiles of the flammable paint on the site”, it said.
Beijing Changfeng Hospital is in the capital's western urban area, about 25 minutes by car from central Tiananmen Square.
Top city officials visited the site shortly after the fire with Beijing party secretary Yin Li promising to “quickly identify the cause of the accident and hold the relevant responsible persons accountable”.
On Wednesday, Sun Haitao from Beijing’s public security bureau announced 12 people, including the facility’s director, had been detained in connection with the fire and that representatives from the company renovating the hospital were also being held.
Investigation launched
Dozens of onlookers gathered outside the entrance to the hospital on Wednesday, according to the AFP news agency, after the city’s deadliest fire in at least 20 years. The facility was cordoned off and police officers were stationed at the gate to discourage people from taking photos.
Sources: Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Reuters
