A fireman died and seven people were injured in a massive fire that engulfed part of the new China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters in Beijing, said a fire control spokesman Tuesday.
Zhang Jianyong, political instructor of the Chaoyang branch of the Beijing fire brigade, died at Chaoyang Hospital at around 3 a.m. Tuesday. Six firefighters and a construction worker suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening, said Luo Yuan, spokesman and deputy chief with the Beijing Fire Control Bureau.
"It is heartbroken that Zhang could not celebrate his 30th birthday days later this month," Luo said.
Zhang inhaled toxic gas while he worked to put out the fire. His parents have arrived in Beijing from their home in Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning Province.
About 600 firemen, along with 85 fire engines, fought the fire that destroyed the the 30-story building that houses the nearly-completed luxury Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The fire started at 8:27 p.m. Monday and was put out at around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
CCTV hired staff from a fireworks company to ignite several hundred large festive firecrackers outside the building, which caused the fire, Luo said.
Those powerful fireworks should not have been set off without approval from the municipal government, Luo said. Police had tried to intervene but their warnings were ignored.
Four camcorders recorded the fireworks display and the entire ignition process. The people who ignited the fireworks are being questioned by police and remains of fireworks have been seized.
The western, southern and eastern external walls of the building were burned, but the major structure was not damaged, the spokesman said.
In addition to the hotel, the building also houses a television studio and an electronic data processing center. The hotel and the electronic data processing center were destroyed, but the studio and the northern external wall were salvaged by firefighters.
Firemen used 98-meter aerial ladders in combating the fire, however, they were still unable to get water to the top of the 159-meter-tall building.
"Wind was strong on the upper floors of the building and it fueled the fire. The fire control facilities inside the building have not been put into use yet," Luo said.
The flames paralyzed traffic in the area and halted operation of a subway line Monday night.
Xinhua reporters on the scene said about 80 percent of the building was charred. No sign of damage was seen on the CCTV main tower about 200 meters away.
Tuesday morning, the site was crowded with journalists snapping photos of the ruins, as well as several thousand onlookers -- mostly residents who lived near the site and witnessed the fire Monday night. Traffic in the area has returned to normal.
In a statement posted on its Web site Tuesday, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group said the hotel was empty at the time of the fire, though some witnesses claimed they saw some lights on in the building before the fire.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group said it is contracted to manage the hotel but has no ownership interest in the building. The hotel was used during the Olympics, but wasn't slated to officially open until mid-2009.
The hotel and CCTV's main tower were both designed by Rotterdam-based OMA. Total investment is about 5 billion yuan (714 million US dollars).
Monday was the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival and fireworks were allowed in downtown Beijing until midnight.
(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2009)