By Alex Wu
April 20, 2023 Updated: April 20, 2023
An investigator inspects burnt out area following a fire at a hospital in Beijing on April 19, 2023. (Andy Wong/AP Photo)
Authorities in China are withholding the identities of 29 people who died in a fire in the inpatient department of a Beijing hospital on April 18 amid an investigation into the blaze.
The fire broke out in the east building of the Changfeng Hospital’s inpatient department after midday. Twenty-six patients, a nurse, a caretaker, and a patient’s family member died, authorities said.
Another 39 others were injured in the blaze, with three in critical condition and 18 in severe condition. Seventy-one patients were transferred to other hospitals.
The fire was caused by sparks generated during construction work in the hospital’s inpatient department, which ignited flammable paint on the site, according to an official notice issued on April 19.
Meanwhile, 12 people deemed responsible for the fire, including the president, the vice president, the director of the general affairs department of Beijing Changfeng Hospital, and the construction company’s head, have been arrested, the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau announced on April 19.
According to multiple mainland Chinese media outlets, officials kept the hospital fire a secret for eight hours until the evening of April 18. Patients’ families haven’t been notified about their loved one’s condition or whereabouts as of press time.
On the night of the fire, many family members of patients asked the hospital for the death list, mainland Chinese media outlets reported.
More than 30 family members of the patients were waiting in front of the triage desk, asking about the patients’ whereabouts that night. Most of them had rushed to the hospital after learning of the fire and losing contact with their ill family members at the hospital.
A person told mainland Chinese media Times Media on April 19 that since the fire, they still hadn’t been able to see their family member, nor have they been told of their family member’s situation.
Geriatric, Hospice Patients
The fire started on the fifth floor of the eight-story building, a patient’s family member told China Youth Daily.
The people on and above the fifth floor of the building were mainly geriatric and hospice patients, according to mainland Chinese media outlet Economic Observer Network.
A caretaker involved in the rescue said that after the fire broke out, some rooms in the building were difficult to access. The limited mobility of elderly and critically ill patients made them harder to rescue.
A viral video on social media shows two people on the sixth and eighth floors escaping the fire by twisted white sheets as a rope hanging from windows.
Apology, Censorship
At a briefing on the fire on April 19, the deputy head of Fengtai District of Beijing apologized to the public; however, official media closed comments on related news.
Netizens posted on their social media accounts about the incident.
One post reads, “Is this an apology? He didn’t even dare to allow the public to comment.”
Another posted, “A single apology for dozens of lives lost.”
Another one called on the official, “Take the blame and resign!”
While the fire broke out at noon on April 18, the first official notice wasn’t issued until after 8:30 p.m. that night. News of the fire was suppressed online, with pictures and videos quickly deleted from social media platforms.
Mr. Zhao, a resident of Fengtai District, told The Epoch Times that police had surrounded the hospital.
“We were not allowed to approach the scene, and we were not allowed to take pictures. Everything was blocked, and the news was also blocked. There is very little information reaching outside,” he said.
Xiao Lusheng and Hong Ning contributed to this report.
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