33 killed in China hospital fire

Fire swept a hospital in China today, killing at least 33 people including patients, official media said.

Witnesses saw people leaping from burning buildings at the largest hospital in Liaoyuan city in the country’s north-eastern Jilian province.

It was not known how many of those who jumped were among the dead from the blaze, which began in the early evening.

Some patients rescued from the fire died on the way to other hospitals.

Earlier today, the Ministry of Public Security said that from January to November there had been 222,000 accidental fires in China, resulting in more than 2,000 deaths.

Major accidents in recent weeks have claimed several hundred lives, including a rash of coal mining disasters. A major chemical spill into a river forced water supplies to be shut off to the northern city of Harbin.