Twelve people, including the facility's director, have been detained in connection to a fire at a Beijing hospital in which the death toll has risen to 29, city police said Wednesday.
Sun Haitao from Beijing's public security bureau told a press conference that representatives from a company renovating the hospital had also been detained.
The death toll in the fire that ripped through the hospital in China's capital Beijing has risen to 29, a city official said Wednesday, after media initially reported 21 fatalities.
Li Zongrong, deputy mayor of Beijing's Fengtai district, expressed his "deep condolences" as he announced the new toll at a press conference.
According to the Beijing Daily, 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."
AFP journalists on Wednesday saw dozens of onlookers outside the hospital entrance, where many police officers were stationed, discouraging people from taking photos.
Some of the hospital's windows appeared blackened, and at least one was broken, with soot marks visible on parts of the facade.
(Agencies)
![A Kinetica 1-Y5 commercial carrier rocket with 15 satellites onboard blasts off from a commercial aerospace innovation pilot zone in Northwest China, Nov 11, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]](https://image.hkstandard.com.hk/f/1024p0/0x0/100/none/9d75efaf2880111bc04de3f4e79a2647/2026-04/v.jpg)
