New DelhiBeijing: At least 21 people were killed in a fire at Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday. A total of 71 patients were evacuated from the area. The fire was reported in the in-patient department of a hospital in Beijing’s Fengtai district, the Global Times reported. The fire department reached the spot after receiving information about the fire at 12.57 pm local time.
Fire departments, public security, health and emergency departments have arrived at the scene, the Global Times quoted Beijing Daily as saying. The fire was extinguished at 1:33 pm (local time) and rescue operations continued until 3:30 pm (local time).
A major fire broke out at Beijing Changfeng Hospital earlier today local time, killing 21 people. Besides the shocking number of casualties, the more terrifying reality is that zero clues to the fire were given to the press – videos, mentions, chat posts, nothing. No press coverage was present 1) pic.twitter.com/NvBnSyp19Y— Vivian Wu (@vivianwubeijing) April 18, 2023
The cause of the fire is being investigated. According to media reports, in the videos that have surfaced online, some people are seen falling from the window and waiting for rescue. Others were seen jumping to the lower roofs. Earlier on Monday, 11 people were killed in a fire at a manufacturing building in the Jinhua region of China’s Zhejiang province, according to WAM. Investigation is on to ascertain the cause of the fire.
According to the Beijing Daily, after hearing about the horrific tragedy, the city’s Party Chairman Yin Li and Mayor Yin Yong went to the scene and declared that no expense should be spared in saving lives and treating the injured.