Beijing (EFE).- Twelve people have been arrested for their responsibility in the fire that occurred on Tuesday in a hospital in Beijing in which the number of deaths now rises to 29.
The authorities of the capital advanced in a press conference that according to the preliminary investigation, the fire originated from some sparks that jumped during some remodeling work in the health center.
The fire, completely extinguished early in the evening, started at 12:57 local time (04:57 GMT) on Tuesday at the Changfeng hospital, located in the Fengtai district, in the southwest of the capital.
Of the fatalities, 26 were hospital patients, another was a relative of a sick person, and the other two were health personnel from the center.
In the incident, 39 people were injured, of which three are in critical condition and another 18, very seriously.
consultations suspended
As a result of the initial investigations, twelve people have been detained, including the hospital director and those responsible for the remodeling works, said Sun Haitao, from the capital’s Public Security Office.
Municipal officials have ordered all city districts to carry out large-scale inspections in hospitals, nursing homes, skyscrapers and underground facilities to detect and eliminate potential security risks in order to prevent further incidents.
According to Beijing Business Today, Changfeng Hospital is a private hospital established in 1985. It is specialized in the treatment of vascular diseases and belongs to the second of the three levels established by China’s hospital classification system.
The center has suspended outpatient consultations for the moment and does not allow access to the facilities except for hospitalized patients and their families, and the wing in which the fire occurred has been sealed, according to the official Global Times newspaper.
In addition, the listing of the group that owns the damaged hospital was suspended this Wednesday in the so-called NEEQ (National Equities Exchange and Quotations), a market dedicated to raising funds for emerging Chinese companies, on the grounds of a “high-risk accident.”
The mayor of Beijing, Yin Yong, and the head of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in the capital, Yin Li, asked that no effort be spared in caring for those injured in the incident, who have been transferred to different hospitals in the city.