An investigation was underway Wednesday after a fire ripped through a hospital in China’s capital Beijing, killing 21 people, state media reported.
Emergency response teams first received word just before 1 pm (0500 GMT) Tuesday that a fire had broken out at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital in the capital city’s Fengtai District, the Communist Party-run Beijing Daily said.
Nearly 30 minutes later, the fire was put out.
After two more hours of rescue efforts, 71 patients had already been evacuated.
Social media users posted videos on Tuesday of people sitting on external air conditioning units.
Others who jumped from the building were seen clinging to ropes.
The videos could not be independently verified, but AFP has geolocated the building in the footage to the hospital.
The death toll stood at 21 as of Wednesday morning, the newspaper said.
There were no further details on the number of injuries sustained in the fire or the condition of the victims.
Top city officials visited the hospital shortly after the fire.
Beijing party secretary Yin Li vowed to “quickly identify the cause of the accident and hold the relevant responsible persons accountable”, according to the Beijing Daily.
AFP journalists on Wednesday saw dozens of onlookers outside the entrance to the hospital, where a large number of police officers were stationed, discouraging people from taking photos.
Some of the hospital’s windows appeared to be blackened, and one was broken.
It was unclear whether all of the hospital’s occupants had been found and evacuated before the fire.
According to a Beijing report, the victims’ deaths were confirmed after transfer to an unidentified hospital for emergency treatment.
Many family members have lost contact with patients.
According to a separate report published by China Youth Daily, the missing are primarily elderly individuals with mobility issues.
A police officer on the scene on Wednesday told AFP the city “will probably make the appropriate arrangements” to take care of victims’ relatives.
Beijing Changfeng Hospital is located in the capital’s western urban area, about 25 minutes by car from Tiananmen Square.
Deadly fires are common in China due to weak safety standards and lax enforcement.
Ten people died in an apartment block blaze in northwestern Xinjiang in November, sparking protests against Covid-19 lockdowns blamed for hindering rescue efforts.
In November, 38 people were killed in a fire at a factory in central China, with authorities blaming workers for illegal welding.
