Tuesday, February 10, 2009

CCTV apologizes for Beijing hotel fire


CCTV, China's state broadcaster, has made an apology after a fire destroyed a new hotel in Beijing. CCTV-9 correspondent Zou Yue had earlier given on-the-spot reports from the scene of the fire. But within 24 hours he was reading out a public apology on Asia Today. No pictures were shown alongside the statement. The fire started after fireworks were set off near the site of the Mandarin Oriental without permission, according to reports. One firefighter, Zhang Jianyong, died of smoke inhalation while attempting to help put out the blaze which engulfed the 30 storey building. He was one of 600 firefighters who battled for several hours to douse the flames. Five other firefighters and a CCTV worker were also injured but their injuries were not life threatening according to a hospital spokesperson [China Daily / BBC / CNN / CCTV].

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