Beijing detains 18 after apartment fire kills 19: Xinhua

Police in Beijing have detained 18 people following a fire that killed 19 people and injured another eight on Saturday evening, the state news agency Xinhua reported late on Monday.

The fire took place in three-storey apartment block in Beijing’s southern Daxing district. A large refrigeration facility had been under construction in the building’s basement, and preliminary investigations suggested the fire may have started there, Xinhua said late on Monday.

“Preliminary investigation showed there was a refrigeration facility in the basement of the apartment, where the fire was likely to have started,” Xinhua said on Sunday. “Fire fighters said there was heavy smoke in the building but no large flames.”

Seven managers at the apartment block had been detained, along with seven electricity workers and four construction workers at the facility. None of the workers were properly qualified, it added, citing police.

Beijing’s Communist Party chief Cai Qi has already ordered a city-wide safety check, which will last for 40 days.

“We must take actions and protect people’s lives and safeguard the safety and stability of the capital,” Cai said, according to Xinhua.

The official China Daily said the inspections would cover warehouses, factories, wholesale markets, large residential areas and public places like supermarkets and tourist spots.