Chinese officials get warnings, demerits over deadly blaze at Beijing hospital in April
- Forty-one officials held accountable, including the city’s vice-mayor in charge of health, according to state media
- Police are investigating 20 others over the fire that killed 29 people, mostly elderly or palliative care patients with limited mobility
Some 41 officials have been held accountable for the deadly fire that engulfed the Changfeng Hospital six months ago, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
They include Jin Wei, Beijing’s vice-mayor in charge of health, who was given an administrative warning, according to the report, which said he had taken the main “leadership responsibility” for the incident.
Officials from Fengtai district, where the hospital is located, and some government departments at the Beijing municipal level – including the health commission and the fire brigade – also received warnings or demerits.
Such punishments usually last for six months to a year, according to the rules for officials and members of China’s ruling Communist Party.
Twenty other people are being investigated by police, 19 of whom have been arrested, Xinhua said.
Those arrested were employees of Changfeng Hospital including its legal representative and director, and members of the construction company responsible for the renovation work that was found to have caused the fire.
Most of those who died when the blaze ripped through the hospital on April 18 were elderly or palliative care patients with limited mobility.
