Related News
Blaze sweeps Beijing luxury hotel
Source: Shanghai Daily |
February 10, 2009, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AN unfinished luxury hotel next door to China Central Television's landmark headquarters in downtown Beijing went up in flames yesterday after it was showered with sparks from fireworks set off during the Lantern Festival celebration.
More than 30 people, including seven firefighters, were injured, China News Service reported.
The Mandarin Oriental hotel caught fire shortly before 9pm as the skies above the Chinese capital were filled with exploding fireworks, part of celebrations for the festival that ends the Lunar New Year holiday.
The entire hotel building was engulfed in flames, sending off huge plumes of black smoke and showering the ground below with embers. The upper floors were still burning at 1am today.
Police blocked traffic in the area as more than 20 fire engines rushed to the scene.
Witness Li Jian said he saw smoke rising from the 44-story hotel's roof shortly after a huge burst of fireworks showered it with sparks, though it was not clear if they started the blaze. "Smoke came out for a little while, but then it just started burning," he told The Associated Press.
More than 1,000 people were evacuated from the area, and traffic controls were imposed around the scene and on the east Third Ring Road, one of several major highways that encircle the capital, Xinhua news agency reported.
Service on the Number 10 subway was temporarily halted. Snow-like ashes fell as far as 1 kilometer from the building.
"It is horrible," said a woman surnamed Chang, who lives on the 19th floor of an apartment building about 1 kilometer from the CCTV complex.
"There is thick black smoke and high flames. At first we just saw fire on top of the building, but now it is entirely engulfed," she told Xinhua.
Flaming flagship
The hotel was used during the Olympics, but it wasn't scheduled for formal opening until mid-2009. Witnesses said some lights had been on in the hotel.
"The building was used during the Olympic Games, but the occupants moved out afterwards," a CCTV staff surnamed Chen told Xinhua, adding that he didn't know whether there were still people in the building.
According to Xinhua, the 241-room luxury facility, which is in the heart of the capital's central business district, was intended to be Mandarin Oriental's flagship property in China. It lies on the northern edge of a complex that also includes CCTV's imposing Z-shaped headquarters, a major prestige project for the city.
Both buildings were designed by Rotterdam, Netherlands, architects Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren for the firm OMA. And both were nearing the end of construction.
The hotel building was also designed to house a visitors center, a theater and exhibition spaces.
Erik Amir, a senior architect at OMA, said the fire had destroyed years of hard work.
Beijing usually tightly restricts the use of fireworks in the downtown area. But massive fireworks barrages exploded between buildings and in open spaces throughout the city last night.
More than 30 people, including seven firefighters, were injured, China News Service reported.
The Mandarin Oriental hotel caught fire shortly before 9pm as the skies above the Chinese capital were filled with exploding fireworks, part of celebrations for the festival that ends the Lunar New Year holiday.
The entire hotel building was engulfed in flames, sending off huge plumes of black smoke and showering the ground below with embers. The upper floors were still burning at 1am today.
Police blocked traffic in the area as more than 20 fire engines rushed to the scene.
Witness Li Jian said he saw smoke rising from the 44-story hotel's roof shortly after a huge burst of fireworks showered it with sparks, though it was not clear if they started the blaze. "Smoke came out for a little while, but then it just started burning," he told The Associated Press.
More than 1,000 people were evacuated from the area, and traffic controls were imposed around the scene and on the east Third Ring Road, one of several major highways that encircle the capital, Xinhua news agency reported.
Service on the Number 10 subway was temporarily halted. Snow-like ashes fell as far as 1 kilometer from the building.
"It is horrible," said a woman surnamed Chang, who lives on the 19th floor of an apartment building about 1 kilometer from the CCTV complex.
"There is thick black smoke and high flames. At first we just saw fire on top of the building, but now it is entirely engulfed," she told Xinhua.
Flaming flagship
The hotel was used during the Olympics, but it wasn't scheduled for formal opening until mid-2009. Witnesses said some lights had been on in the hotel.
"The building was used during the Olympic Games, but the occupants moved out afterwards," a CCTV staff surnamed Chen told Xinhua, adding that he didn't know whether there were still people in the building.
According to Xinhua, the 241-room luxury facility, which is in the heart of the capital's central business district, was intended to be Mandarin Oriental's flagship property in China. It lies on the northern edge of a complex that also includes CCTV's imposing Z-shaped headquarters, a major prestige project for the city.
Both buildings were designed by Rotterdam, Netherlands, architects Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren for the firm OMA. And both were nearing the end of construction.
The hotel building was also designed to house a visitors center, a theater and exhibition spaces.
Erik Amir, a senior architect at OMA, said the fire had destroyed years of hard work.
Beijing usually tightly restricts the use of fireworks in the downtown area. But massive fireworks barrages exploded between buildings and in open spaces throughout the city last night.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
