Massive fire in Beijing hospital leaves 29 dead
Beijing (China), April 19: As many as 29 people were killed in a massive fire at Changfeng Hospital in the Fengtai district of the Chinese Capital Beijing. The fire occurred on Tuesday and authorities have revealed very few details and kept a tight lid on it, CNN reported.
Officials, on Wednesday, revealed details of those who died in a short news conference. Those who were killed included 26 inpatients with an average age of 71, of whom the oldest victim was 88.
According to Li Zongrong, deputy head of the Fengtai district government, a nurse, a care worker and a family also died in the fire.
A total of 142 persons, including 71 patients, were evacuated. According to Li Ang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, 39 injured people were hospitalised as of Wednesday, with three in critical condition.
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As flames engulfed Changfeng Hospital in Fengtai district early Tuesday afternoon, patients were forced to scramble out of windows and huddle on air conditioning units, while official media remained mute and censors appeared to clean the internet of any mentions.
The amount of information control and censorship came as a shock to internet users, as well as Beijing residents, many of whom complained online that they had no idea a deadly fire had broken out in their city until late on Tuesday night, according to CNN.
"The blaze that engulfed an inpatient building of Changfeng Hospital was caused by sparks from interior renovation work that ignited flammable paint," said Zhao Yang, an official at Beijing's fire department.
According to Sun Haitao, a Beijing Public Security Bureau official, twelve people were held on suspicion of gross negligence, including the hospital's director and construction employees.
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- ANI
