At least 19 Deaths at Hotel Fire in China before International Marathon. A fire in a hotel in the city of Harbin, in the northeast of China, took the lives of at least nineteen people on Saturday, at least 18 others were injured.
In the city Sunday an international marathon would take place where athletes from all over the world take part.
In the night from Friday to Saturday a fire broke out at the Beilong Hot Spring Hotel, a 4-storey hotel in Harbin, in the far northeast of China, not far from Russia.
More than a hundred firefighters and soldiers took more than three hours to extinguish the fire.
Saturday morning nineteen fatalities were counted. There were undoubtedly 18 injured.
It is not yet transparent what caused the fire. The local fire service made it known that the fire was created in the kitchen on the second floor of the hotel, but gave no further details.
The Harbin International Marathon would take place on Sunday, attracting some 30,000 participants and the same number of supporters from all over the world to the city every year.
The hotel is near the finish line of the running race. It is not yet clear whether there are participants among the victims and whether the marathon will continue as planned.