At least 29 people have been killed in a hospital fire in the Chinese capital of Beijing — with survivors forced to jump out of windows to escape — state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
The fire at the private Changfeng Hospital broke out on Tuesday and had been extinguished by mid-afternoon local time on Wednesday, it said.
Dozens were forced to flee the building, while some of those who were trapped escaped from windows using bedsheets tied together.
Those killed were 26 patients, a nurse, a medical assistant and a patient's family member, said Li Zongrong, deputy head of the Fengtai district.
An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the fire, which officials believe was started by welding sparks from work in the hospital’s inpatient wing.
Twelve people, including the hospital’s head and her deputy, have been arrested, as has the chief of the construction crew.
The Fengtai district's deputy mayor expressed his "deep condolences" over the deaths of the 16 women and 13 men killed in the inferno.
"We feel deep remorse and guilt," Li Zongrong said on Wednesday.
"I hereby express our deep condolences for the victims, and express our sincere respects to the victims' families, the injured and their relatives, and apologise to the people of the whole city."
Beijing party secretary Yin Li vowed to "quickly identify the cause of the accident and hold the relevant responsible persons accountable", according to the Beijing Daily.
At least 39 people were injured in the fire, three of them are in critical condition, according to authorities.
Rescue crews and medical staff from around the city were mobilised, with squads plucking some of the 142 people who were rescued from air-conditioning units on the building's exterior.
The hospital is in the capital's western urban area, about 25 minutes by car from Tiananmen Square.
Fatal fires are common in China because of weak safety standards and lax enforcement of regulations.
It was the deadliest blaze in Beijing for more than two decades.
Since an explosion in 2015 at a chemical warehouse killed 173 people in the northern port city of Tianjin, Chinese officials have pledged stronger safety measures.
The majority of people that died were mostly firefighters and police officers.
Another fire in 2002 at an internet cafe killed 25 students.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
