|
Authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze at the
four-story Bailong Hot Springs Leisure Hotel, an inexpensive spa
resort visited mainly by domestic tourists, which broke out just
after 4:30 a.m. (2030 GMT Friday).
The People's Daily newspaper cited fire officials as saying the
blaze had started in a kitchen on the second floor.
Flames swept through an area of about 400 square meters (4,300
square feet) before being extinguished after three hours,
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. Footage showed rescue
workers picking through the charred building.
Casualties treated in hospital were in the 40s to 70s age range,
the newspaper said, citing the Harbin First Hospital. Further
details about those who were killed were not immediately
available.
An earlier death toll of 18 rose by one after a victim died in
hospital, officials said.
China has a patchy record for building safety regulations, and
the country's Ministry of Emergency Management said it would
launch nationwide fire safety inspections in buildings such as
hotels, sauna, hospitals, schools and shopping malls, CCTV
reported on Saturday.
Beijing's municipal government launched a 40-day "special
operation" targeting fire code and building safety violations
after an apartment fire in the Chinese capital in November
killed 19 people.
Harbin, in the far northeast of China and home to a large
Russian population during the early 20th century, is famous for
buildings dating from that era as well as a popular winter snow
and ice festival.
(Reporting by Lusha Zhang and Tony Munroe; Editing by Sam Holmes
and Helen Popper)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
