(Beijing) A fire in a hospital in the Fengtai district of Beijing has killed 21 people, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Chinese capital, the Chinese capital, reported on Tuesday. Beijing Daily.
The alert of a fire outbreak at Changfeng Hospital was given shortly before 1 a.m. and the disaster was extinguished half an hour later, while the emergency services evacuated 71 patients during the following two hours, according to the newspaper.
The death toll at 6 a.m. was 21, the Beijing Daily wrote, adding that an investigation is underway into “the cause of the accident”.
Images of people seeking shelter from the flames sitting on outdoor air conditioning units or clinging to ropes before jumping from the building that houses the hospital have been circulating on social media.
The death toll could not be confirmed until those people were rushed to another hospital, the official said. Beijing Daily who does not give his name.
No information was immediately released on the condition of those injured in the fire.
Changfeng Hospital is in the west of the capital, about 25 minutes by car from Tiananmen Square.