Authorities announced Wednesday that a hospital fire in Beijing has claimed 29 lives, including 26 patients. Twelve people, including the hospital’s head and her deputy, have also been detained.
Dozens of people had to be evacuated after a fire broke out at the exclusive Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday afternoon. Some of the trapped people had to jump out of windows using bedsheets that had been knotted together.
According to Li Zongrong, deputy chairman of the Fengtai district, the tragedy also claimed the lives of a nurse, a medical assistant, and a family member.
Officials said they believe the fire was started by welding sparks from work being done in the hospital’s inpatient section, while the cause of the incident is still under investigation. The leader of the construction team was one of the 12 guys who were taken into custody.
Three of the 39 patients receiving medical attention for injuries are in critical condition, according to officials. 142 individuals were evacuated from air conditioning units on the buildings outside by rescue teams and medical personnel who were called in from all around the city.
Although safety regulations are regularly disregarded in China, incidents such as the Changfeng fire are scrutinized considerably more closely. Cutting shortcuts on labor hours and safety regulations while paying off local officials to ignore violations can lead to construction mishaps.
Since a chemical warehouse explosion in 2015 in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 173 people, the majority of them firefighters and police officers, the central government has promised tougher safety measures.
