At least 21 people have died in a horror fire at a Beijing hospital, Chinese state media reported.
Another 71 people were evacuated after the fire broke out Tuesday in the inpatient department of Beijing Changfeng Hospital.
Footage emerged online showing desperate patients clambering out of windows and using bedsheets to abseil to safety from the upper floors.
Black smoke enveloped the building with other survivors seeking refuge on top of air conditioning units outside the windows.
Chinese state media said the fire has been extinguished and rescue work has been completed.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, the reports said.
One witness posted on Weibo: “It’s tragic. I can see the accident from the window of my house.
“A lot of people were standing on the air-conditioning unit at noon, and some even jumped off.”
Dimsum Daily News said the fire was extinguished an hour and a half after igniting, around 1:33pm local time.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered a mass effort to help those who are injured.
Beijing Changfeng Hospital is in the capital’s western urban area, about 25 minutes by car from central Tiananmen Square.
