CX Daily: Hubris And Heartache: Behind The Tragedy Of Beijing’s Deadly Hospital Fire

A hallway in the inpatient department is severely damaged, leaving behind only charred walls and steel frames. Photo: Cui Xiankang/Caixin

Fire /

Hubris and Heartache: Behind the tragedy of Beijing’s deadly hospital fire

As night fell on April 18th, darkness engulfed the Beijing Changfeng Hospital. Charred beds and blackened walls lined the wards, a terrible reminder of the horror that had befallen the dozens of dead and injured in one of China’s worst hospital fires in recent years.

Just hours earlier, the hospital in the western suburbs of the capital had been packed, with patients receiving treatment from doctors and nurses going about their work on an otherwise regular Tuesday.