Beijing Mandarin Oriental hotel fire

According to the BBC report, a fire has engulfed a luxury hotel being built in central Beijing, killing one firefighter. Chinese state media reported that six other people had been injured in the fire that destroyed the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The 44-storey building is located a few hundred metres from Chinese TV’s iconic headquarters – designed as part of the city’s Olympic makeover.

It is believed that fire-crackers have sparked the blaze. The firefighter died early on Tuesday from toxic gases he inhaled while fighting the fire. It took almost four hours to bring under control, after it began on Monday evening. No-one was in the building when the fire began, hotel personel said.

People said that the blaze was spectacular, drawing onlookers from across China’s capital city as clouds of sparks and smoke spurted from the tower. Initial reports indicated firecrackers set off to celebrate the Lunar New Year, China’s most important annual festival, had caused the fire, said Xinhua a city government spokesman.

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Posted by Denz on Feb 10 2009. Filed under Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.