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29 people have died after a fire engulfed a hospital in Beijing on Tuesday (Apr. 18), according to a press conference held by The People's Government of Beijing Municipality today (Apr. 19).

The Fire and Rescue Brigade of Fengtai District received a report of a fire on the east side of Changfeng Hospital at 12.57pm, Beijing Daily reported.

Firefighters and other relevant authorities were quickly dispatched to handle the situation and the fire was extinguished at 1.33pm.

Videos circulating around social media showed people hanging outside the hospital building to escape the fire.

Rescue work ended at 3.30pm. An initial report said that 71 patients were evacuated and transferred to another hospital, but the numbers were later revised to 142 people, including patients, medical staff and family members.

At 6pm the same day, it was announced that 21 people were pronounced dead after being transferred to another hospital for treatment.

The number of deaths has been updated to 29 as of 9am on Wednesday (Apr. 19).

12 people detained

According to state media Global Times, the city has convened a team to identify the cause of the accident.

According to the press conference, the fire might have been generated by renovation works.

Beijing party secretary, Yin Li, said responsible parties will be held accountable.

12 people have been detained, including the leadership of the hospital, they announced at the press conference.

Authorities have also given directives to all districts to remove potential safety hazards to prevent other accidents from happening as the May Day holidays are approaching.

As of 9.30pm on Tuesday (Apr. 18), a burning smell still lingered outside the hospital but traffic around the area had returned to normal.  Several police cars could be seen along the road near the hospital, according to Global Times.

The hospital is currently only allowing relatives of patients to enter the premise and has stopped taking in new patients.

The hospital had recently held a meeting on fire prevention and control about a month ago, Global Times reported.

Top image via 王彧人/Weibo.