China hospital fire in Beijing kills 21, says newspaper
- Beijing Daily said the cause of the blaze at Changfeng Hospital in Fengtai District is under investigation
- Social media users posted videos of people sitting on external air conditioning units, while others clinging to ropes jumped from the building
A fire in a Beijing hospital has killed 21 people, the state-run Beijing Daily said on Tuesday.
Emergency response teams first received word just before 1pm that a fire had broken out at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital in the capital city’s Fengtai District, the Beijing Daily report said.
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.
The death toll was put at 21 by 6pm, the report said.
The Beijing Daily said “the cause of the accident is under further investigation”.
Social media users posted videos through the afternoon of people sitting on external air conditioning units, while others showed people jumping from the building, clinging to ropes.