An investigation was launched on Wednesday, the day after a fire at a Beijing hospital killed 21 people and forced patients to flee through windows, Chinese media reported.
A heavy police presence was visible around the facility on Wednesday morning, trying to deter groups of passers-by who were watching and filming the scene on their cellphones, AFP journalists noted.
The building’s main entrance appeared mostly intact from the outside, but pictures of the interior released by business media Caixin showed completely charred beds and blackened walls.
On one facade of the hospital complex we saw windows and walls browned with soot and a broken pane.
“We have no relatives or loved ones in the hospital affected by the fire, we’re just coming to look at the situation,” a 50-year-old man, who declined to be named, told AFP.
“In the history of Beijing, this is the greatest drama in a hospital, in my opinion. I wonder what could have caused this fire,” wondered another, also in his 50s. “It’s a hospital that had a pretty good reputation,” he added.
The warning of a fire outbreak at Changfeng Hospital in Fengtai District was issued just before 1:00 p.m. (05:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
The disaster was cleared half an hour later, while rescue workers evacuated 71 patients over the following two hours, according to the official Beijing daily.
“Treat the Wounded”
The death toll on Wednesday morning was 21, according to the same source. No information was given about the condition or the number of people injured in the fire.
Images of people seeking shelter from the blazes by sitting on outdoor air conditioners or clinging to sheets before jumping out of the building where the hospital is located were shared on social media.
“The top priority is treating the injured,” said Yin Li, secretary of the Beijing Communist Party, who visited the scene, according to Beijing Daily.
He recommended “the establishment of a task force at the municipal level”, in particular to “quickly determine the cause of the accident and hold those responsible accountable in accordance with the law”.
Several families of patients said they have lost contact with loved ones, with the missing patients mostly being elderly who are having trouble getting around, the official Chinese Youth Daily newspaper said on Wednesday.
Changfeng Hospital is located in the west of the capital, about 25 minutes by car from Tiananmen Square.
Fatal fires are quite common in China due to poor safety standards and corruption among enforcement officials.
Last November, ten people were killed in a residential building fire in Urumqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang (northwest), sparking a movement of popular anger against anti-Covid health restrictions, which have been accused of hampering the work of emergency services .
Also in November, a factory fire in Anyang (central city) killed 38 people, with authorities accusing workers of abuse.