Poor supervision led to fatal fire

A high-level investigation into a Beijing apartment building fire that killed 19 people in November has concluded that the tragedy was caused by a combination of illegal practices and poor supervision.

Flames tore through the five-story Jufuyuan complex in Xihongmen township, part of the capital's Daxing district, on Nov 18 after an electrical fault occurred during testing of a new basement cold-storage unit.

More than 400 residents lived in the structure, which also housed workshops, storage units and other businesses - most of them unlicensed.