Smoke kills 10 in hotel fire horror
Source: Xinhua |
May 2, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
Ten people died and 35, including at least one child, were injured in a hotel blaze in northeast China's Jilin Province early yesterday.
The fire broke out at about 3:30am at a building which houses the No. 1 store of Home Inns, the country's largest budget hotel operator, in Dongchang District of Tonghua City, the city government said in a statement.
The seven-story building has a karaoke bar and a restaurant on the first and second floors. The Home Inns hotel is on the floors above.
China Central Television said 150 people were evacuated from the building and about 140 firefighters deployed to the scene.
An initial investigation found the fire started in the stairwell on the first floor and spread to the second. Heavy smoke then engulfed the floors above. The 10 who died, mostly on the fifth and seventh floors, were overcome by the fumes.
The 35 injured are being treated in hospital. Three of them were seriously hurt, though their conditions are not life-threatening.
"Almost none of them suffered burns," said Qiao Shuping, deputy president of Tonghua City People's Hospital. "Their main symptoms are dizziness, nausea and sore throats."
Qiao added: "We sucked out a lot of soot from the respiratory tract of a seriously injured child."
One slightly injured woman said she rushed out of the hotel room after hearing someone shouting "Fire! Fire!" She didn't see any flames, but the corridor was full of smoke. "I lost consciousness and when I woke up later, I was in the hospital," she said.
Firefighters found no further bodies or injured people after combing the scene five times.
Zong Xiangxin, chief operating officer of Home Inns, has arrived at the site of the accident to deal with the aftermath, the company said in a statement. "We feel very sad for the accident," it said.
An internal investigation showed the fire did not start in the hotel, the statement said, adding that the company will be helping local authorities in further investigations.
Home Inns had 818 hotels by the end of 2010 and planned to open 260 to 280 more this year.
The fire broke out at about 3:30am at a building which houses the No. 1 store of Home Inns, the country's largest budget hotel operator, in Dongchang District of Tonghua City, the city government said in a statement.
The seven-story building has a karaoke bar and a restaurant on the first and second floors. The Home Inns hotel is on the floors above.
China Central Television said 150 people were evacuated from the building and about 140 firefighters deployed to the scene.
An initial investigation found the fire started in the stairwell on the first floor and spread to the second. Heavy smoke then engulfed the floors above. The 10 who died, mostly on the fifth and seventh floors, were overcome by the fumes.
The 35 injured are being treated in hospital. Three of them were seriously hurt, though their conditions are not life-threatening.
"Almost none of them suffered burns," said Qiao Shuping, deputy president of Tonghua City People's Hospital. "Their main symptoms are dizziness, nausea and sore throats."
Qiao added: "We sucked out a lot of soot from the respiratory tract of a seriously injured child."
One slightly injured woman said she rushed out of the hotel room after hearing someone shouting "Fire! Fire!" She didn't see any flames, but the corridor was full of smoke. "I lost consciousness and when I woke up later, I was in the hospital," she said.
Firefighters found no further bodies or injured people after combing the scene five times.
Zong Xiangxin, chief operating officer of Home Inns, has arrived at the site of the accident to deal with the aftermath, the company said in a statement. "We feel very sad for the accident," it said.
An internal investigation showed the fire did not start in the hotel, the statement said, adding that the company will be helping local authorities in further investigations.
Home Inns had 818 hotels by the end of 2010 and planned to open 260 to 280 more this year.
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