District leader resigns after fire

Cui Zhicheng, the head of Beijing's Daxing district, resigned on Wednesday after a fatal fire killed 19 people in the district on Nov 18.

The district's standing committee of the people's congress announced Cui's resignation on Wednesday. The committee also appointed Wang Youguo, who was a deputy head, as Daxing's acting district chief.

About 6 pm on Nov 18, an electrical fault at an apartment building in the village of Xinjian, Xihongmen township, ignited flammable materials on a wall, causing a fire that killed 19 people and injured eight, according to police report.