Blaze destroys five-star Dynasty Wanxin hotel in Shenyang after New Year fireworks land on nearby bu
Blaze destroys five-star Dynasty Wanxin hotel in Shenyang after New Year fireworks land on nearby building
A blaze started by fireworks to celebrate the Lunar New Year destroyed a five-star hotel in the northeast.
The fire gutted the hotel in Shenyang , capital of Liaoning , before dawn on Thursday. There were no casualties, Xinhua reported.
Firefighters had difficulty tackling the blaze because the building was 219 metres tall but their equipment could only reach to 50 metres. Police said the blaze was triggered by fireworks which landed on a nearby apartment building.
It broke out at midnight in Tower B of the Dynasty Wanxin complex, and the flames quickly spread to the adjacent five-star hotel in Tower A. Some 50 people in the hotel were evacuated. The nearby five-star Sheraton Shenyang Lido Hotel was also evacuated.
Lunar New Year fires are common on the mainland. Two years ago an illegal fireworks display destroyed a hotel under construction next to the iconic headquarters of state broadcaster China Central Television in Beijing, killing one fireman and injuring eight others.
Firefighters' ability to handle fires in high-rise buildings was also questioned after an apartment blaze in Shanghai in November claimed 58 lives. The municipal government said narrow streets prevented large fire engines from reaching the scene. A Beijing court found the CCTV fire had something in common with that in Shanghai - substandard insulating materials that failed fire safety tests were used for both their exteriors.
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