Chinese media reports that a fire at a hospital in Beijing that required the evacuation of hundreds of patients resulted in the deaths of 21 people.
Details
According to the state-run Beijing Daily, emergency reaction teams learned of an incident at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital in the capital city’s Fengtai District just before 1 pm (05:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
About 30 minutes later, the rescue team put out the fire, but rescue operations lasted another two hours.
After a fire started in the inpatient area of the exclusive Beijing Changfeng Hospital, staff members evacuated 71 patients, according to state media outlets like CGTN.
It wasn’t immediately clear if all of the hospital’s residents had been located and removed due to the fire.
About Beijing Changfeng Hospital
In the western part of the capital, Beijing Changfeng Hospital is about 25 minute’s drive from Tiananmen Square.
By early Wednesday, neither the number of people who may have been hurt nor how many of the deaths were patients had received official confirmation.
About Immediate Investigations
The Beijing Daily reported that “further investigation is being done into the accident’s cause.”
Social media users uploaded videos of people sitting on outside air conditioners throughout the afternoon as others holding onto ropes leapt from the structure.
According to the article, the victims were transferred to an unnamed hospital for emergency care before the deaths were officially reported.
Late on Tuesday, it looked only a portion of the hospital building had power, with only a few windows lit by the flickering torches of the staff members.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the building’s outside was in some parts scorched and burnt, and police cars could be parked at the north door.
