Beijing apartment fire kills 4, injures 5

A fire broke out on the ground floor of an apartment in Dongxindian village, Cuigezhuang town, Chaoyang district in Beijing, at 3:17 am Thursday, resulting in four deaths and five injuries, according to the fire department of the district.

The Beijing 119 command center dispatched nine firefighting vehicles from three fire stations to the scene after receiving the emergency call, it said.

By 3:43 am, the fire was extinguished, and a total of 54 individuals were evacuated. Nine trapped individuals were rescued and promptly sent to hospital. However, four of them succumbed to their injuries, whereas the remaining five are undergoing intensive medical care.

Preliminary investigation indicates that the cause of the fire on site was attributed to the ignition of an electric bicycle.