China: the fire of a hospital in Beijing has caused many deaths, an investigation is underway

An investigator at the scene of the fire. On one façade of the Changfeng hospital complex, you can see windows and walls burnished by soot, as well as broken glass. AFP - GREG BAKER

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An investigation is underway Wednesday (April 19th), a day after a fire at a Beijing hospital killed at least 29 people and forced patients to escape through windows, Chinese media reported. Following this disaster, twelve people were arrested, including the director of the hospital.

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Twelve people have been arrested in Beijing the day after a hospital fire killed at least 29 people, police said Wednesday (April 19th). The director of the facility and employees of the company in charge of renovation work at the facility were among those arrested, Sun Haitao, of Beijing Public Security, said at a press conference.

Charred beds

A heavy police presence is visible Wednesday around the establishment, trying to discourage groups of passers-by who observed and filmed the scene with their phones, AFP journalists found. The main entrance to the building appeared almost intact from the outside, but images of the interior published by business media Caixin showed fully charred beds and blackened walls. On one side of the hospital complex, soot-burnished windows and walls could be seen, as well as broken glass.

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We don't have a parent hospitalized or loved one affected by the fire, we just come to see the situation " said a 50-year-old man who did not wish to give his name. "In the history of Beijing, this is the biggest drama in a hospital I think. I wonder what could have caused this fire, "wondered another, also in his fifties. "It's a hospital that had a pretty good reputation," he added.

Emergency services evacuate 71 patients

The alert of a fire at Changfeng Hospital, in Fengtai District, was given on Tuesday shortly before 13pm local time (5am GMT). The fire was extinguished half an hour later, while emergency services evacuated 71 patients over the next two hours, according to the official Beijing Daily newspaper. The fire is the deadliest in the Chinese capital since the June 2002 fire at an internet café that killed 25 students. Fatal fires are quite common in China, due to poor safety standards and corruption among officials responsible for enforcing them. But they are relatively rare in Beijing.

(

With AFP)

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