Death toll in Beijing's hospital fire rises to 29
Beijing (PTI): The death toll from a major fire at a hospital building in the Chinese capital has risen to 29, officials said here on Wednesday.
The fire which broke out at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday has been extinguished, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
On Tuesday, the official media reported that 21 people were killed in the incident.
More than 70 patients were affected and shifted from the affected hospital admissions building in Beijing's Fengtai district.
Videos circulating online show some people jumping out of the window and waiting for rescue on the outdoor air conditioning units. Others jumped to lower rooftops, state-run Global Times reported.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
The city has set up a special working team to identify the cause of the accident, and those responsible for the accident will be held accountable in accordance with the law, the report said.
Authorities have instructed all districts to conduct large-scale inspections to identify and eliminate potential safety hazards, preventing any significant safety incidents from occurring as the May Day holidays are approaching.
China will shut down for a week from May 1 to celebrate International Workers Day.
Beijing Changfeng Hospital is a private hospital established in 1985, affiliated with Beijing Changfeng Hospital Corporation.
The hospital, a secondary hospital in China's three-tier hospital system, is a chain hospital that specialises in the treatment of vascular diseases, especially haemangiomas and vascular malformations, as well as other comprehensive treatment programmes.
In another incident, 11 people died in a factory fire in Wuyi county, Jinhua city in China's eastern Zhejiang province earlier on Tuesday.
NEW: Massive fire breaks out in Beijing hospital. Video show patients using bed sheets to try to escape the blaze, multiple fatalities reported.pic.twitter.com/fucvzCcPs2
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) April 18, 2023
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Interstate cyber-fraud racket busted in UP's Baghpat, 7 held
Baghpat (PTI): An interstate cyber-fraud racket involved in duping people on the pretext of providing bank jobs was busted by police in this Uttar Pradesh district on Sunday with the arrest of seven people, including two women, officials said.
Police said the accused were running a fake call centre and luring job seekers from several states by issuing forged appointment letters and fabricated agreements in the name of bank recruitment, collecting large sums of money in return.
READ READ: Meat, alcohol ban at three 'holy cities' now in effect: Punjab CM Mann
Twelve mobile phones, two laptops, two SIM cards on fake names, several forged appointment letters and agreements, 15 bank passbooks, two chequebooks, UPI QR codes, ATM cards and 11 other cards were seized from the possession of the accused, police said, adding that the data of around 6,450 people from different states was found stored in the laptops.
According to the officials, the gang misused information obtained from online platforms, such as OLX and job-related websites, to target unsuspecting victims.
The racket was uncovered following complaints received on the Union home ministry's "Pratibimb" portal and subsequent technical surveillance.
Investigations revealed at least 20 complaints from various states, including Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Assam and Meghalaya.
The arrested accused were identified as Mohit Kumar, Puneet Kumar, Vardaan, Anuj Kumar and Akshay, besides the two women.
They were arrested at around 11:30 am from under the Eastern Peripheral Expressway in the Kotwali Baghpat area.
A case has been registered at the cyber crime police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66D of the Information Technology Act, police said.
