A fire at a Beijing hospital on Tuesday left more than two dozen dead, making it the Chinese capital’s deadliest blaze in at least two decades.
Dramatic videos were posted on social media of people using tied bed sheets to escape the smoke and flames engulfing Changfeng Hospital.
The majority of those who died were patients, with the fire having been put out in half an hour, officials told a media briefing.
Early on Wednesday, many of those injured were still in hospital, with some in a serious or critical condition, officials said.
Adding that initial findings showed the fire was caused by inflammable painting material at a ward under renovation, mostly impacting a wing for critically ill patients.
By Wednesday, Reuters found many posts criticizing the fire on social media site WeChat had been either censored or deleted.
Authorities are investigating Beijing’s deadliest fire since at least 2002, when a blaze at an internet cafe killed 25.
