According to the state-run Beijing Daily, a fire in a Beijing hospital killed 21 people on Tuesday.
According to the Beijing Daily, emergency reaction teams received information shortly before 1 p.m. (0500 GMT) that a fire had broken out at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital in the capital city’s Fengtai District.
The fire was put out approximately a half-hour later, and rescue attempts continued for another two hours, by which time 71 patients had been evacuated and transported to another location.
The death toll had risen to 21 by 6 p.m., according to the report.
The Beijing Daily said “the cause of the accident is under further investigation”.
Throughout the day, social media users posted videos of people sitting on external air conditioning units, while others clinging to ropes jumped from the building.
It was unclear whether all of the hospital’s inmates had been found and evacuated from the fire, which was in the east building of the private hospital’s inpatient section.
According to the story, the victims’ deaths were verified after they were transferred to an unidentified hospital for emergency care.
There was no information available on the number of people injured in the incident or their conditions.
Beijing Changfeng Hospital is located in the capital’s western metropolitan area, approximately 25 minutes by vehicle from Tiananmen Square.
