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Fire claims building at CCTV Beijing headquarters
Unreal......
Mon Feb 9, 2009 10:04am EST
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters) - Fire consumed a building in Beijing that formed part of Central China Television's new headquarters, as residents launched fireworks throughout the city to celebrate the Lantern Festival Monday evening.
Flames 20-30 feet high shot out of the building, just north of the landmark CCTV tower designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. The flames were reflected in the tower, which itself appeared to be untouched.
"The upper fifth is on fire, multiple floors. Debris is falling and flames are coming out in all directions," Edie Marshall, a Beijing resident, told Reuters.
No-one appeared to have been in the building, a policeman on the scene said, adding he had no immediate knowledge of any casualties.
Hundreds of people watched and took photos amid an acrid smell as fire trucks sprayed streams of water on the building. Armed police moved the onlookers beyond a cordon as paramilitary troops moved in on the building.
The fire department did not immediately comment on the suspected cause of the blaze, which occured as the city was bombarded with fireworks on the final day of the Lunar New Year holiday.
The destroyed building housed the Mandarin Oriental hotel in eastern Beijing, which was supposed to open in 2009. It was also designed to include a theater, recording studios and cinemas, while CCTV's main production and broadcasting units were to occupy the main building next door.
(Writing by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Jerry Norton)
First video is how it may have started, from fireworks, on the roof. At the very end of the video they zoom in and you can see a small plume of fire and smoke on the roof. This was a 31 story building. Gone!
Note the interior engineering design. This building was nothing more than a massive chimney.
Mon Feb 9, 2009 10:04am EST
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING (Reuters) - Fire consumed a building in Beijing that formed part of Central China Television's new headquarters, as residents launched fireworks throughout the city to celebrate the Lantern Festival Monday evening.
Flames 20-30 feet high shot out of the building, just north of the landmark CCTV tower designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. The flames were reflected in the tower, which itself appeared to be untouched.
"The upper fifth is on fire, multiple floors. Debris is falling and flames are coming out in all directions," Edie Marshall, a Beijing resident, told Reuters.
No-one appeared to have been in the building, a policeman on the scene said, adding he had no immediate knowledge of any casualties.
Hundreds of people watched and took photos amid an acrid smell as fire trucks sprayed streams of water on the building. Armed police moved the onlookers beyond a cordon as paramilitary troops moved in on the building.
The fire department did not immediately comment on the suspected cause of the blaze, which occured as the city was bombarded with fireworks on the final day of the Lunar New Year holiday.
The destroyed building housed the Mandarin Oriental hotel in eastern Beijing, which was supposed to open in 2009. It was also designed to include a theater, recording studios and cinemas, while CCTV's main production and broadcasting units were to occupy the main building next door.
(Writing by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Jerry Norton)
First video is how it may have started, from fireworks, on the roof. At the very end of the video they zoom in and you can see a small plume of fire and smoke on the roof. This was a 31 story building. Gone!
Note the interior engineering design. This building was nothing more than a massive chimney.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John on
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That was a HUGE Fire, Thank God the building wasn't finished yet and no one was hurt.
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Permalink Reply by Randy Morrow Jr on
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Wow, what did they build that with??
Balsa wood??
That maybe one of the worst fires I've ever seen....
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Permalink Reply by Doug on
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Amazingly, the steel superstructure of this building is still standing. It's nothing but a hollow shell now though.
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After seeing how it went up. I would hope they don't rebuild it....
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6 Chinese firefighters were hurt battling this towering inferno(no pun intended). The architect of the building spoke in a press conference earlier as well, and stated there were no sprinklers in the building, they were still being installed, even when this building was being used as a hotel during the Olypics :shakes head: Thank God this didn't happen during the Olympics.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/09/content_10790640.htm
BEIJING, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- A hotel adjacent to the new China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters in Beijing caught fire Monday night.
As of 0:45 a.m. Tuesday, the fire has been under control, but blaze could still be seen on upper floors, witnesses said.
Seven people injured in the fire were rushed to the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital. Six of the seven injured are firefighters and the other is a CCTV worker. As of 0:30, three of them have been in coma. But doctors said the seven were not life threatening.
Initial investigation showed that the fire had been caused by illegal launches of firecrackers, said a spokesman with the Beijing Municipal Government.
Firefighters found remnants of firecrackers on the southern roof of the burning building.
The fire razed more than 100,000 square meters. An atrium and a digital computer room in the building were burnt down.
The 159-meter building, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, is 200 meters away from the iconic CCTV main tower and part of the complex.
The hotel was used during the Olympics, but the hotel won't officially open until mid-2009. Witnesses said some lights had been on in the hotel.
As Monday is China's traditional Lantern Festival, the end of the Lunar New Year holiday, fireworks were being set off nearby.
A young man who declined to be identified said the fire had apparently started at about 8:25 p.m. Monday, when firecrackers landed on the top of the building. Police couldn't immediately confirm that account.
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Sounds like China is growing too fast for it's own good.....
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