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19 killed as fire sweeps through Beijing accommodation block

Suspects detained after fatal blaze in southern outskirts of capital

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It took firefighters three hours to bring the blaze under control. Photo: News.jstv.com

Nineteen people were killed in a fire in the outskirts of Beijing, local media reported.

The fire broke out on Saturday afternoon in a building in a village in Daxing, an outer district to the south of the city centre, according to the Beijing Daily.

Photographs from the scene showed the building was called Jufuyuan Apartments, a two-storey building used as rented accommodation.

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The blaze was finally put out three hours later after an operation involving 34 fire engines from 14 firefighting units, the report said.

In addition to the 19 people killed, eight were injured and being treated in hospital.

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The cause of the fire was still under investigation, but suspects had been detained, the report added, without saying what crime they were suspected of committing.

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