Fire in Beijing

[Tomluter]

One CCTV's building was in fire 2 hours ago.

So horrible. cause is unknown by now.

[dave lukins]

OMG.. I hope everyone managed to get clear

[Knaur Amarsh]

Jeez, that looks bang in the middle of a densely populated area, hope not many got caught in it and it doesn't spread around to other buildings ....

[Tomluter]

video. shot by a Cell Phone

The rescue unable to approach.

[Tomluter]

8 men get into the building, lost contact. 15 minutes ago, the fire reburn.

Many military police and reduce get to the spot.

a traffic jam.

[ChrisF202]

That looks like one hell of a fire, if that building comes down it won't be pretty ...

BTW: have they been able to make contact with the 8 firefighters inside the building?

[Guest]

Fire claims building at CCTV Beijing headquarters

BEIJING (Reuters) – Fire consumed a building in Beijing that formed part of Central China Television's new headquarters as residents set off fireworks throughout the city to celebrate the Lantern Festival on 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.

The fire began abating just before midnight (11:00 a.m. EST).

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 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 occurred 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 Angus MacSwan)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090209/ts_nm/us_china_fire

[Guest]

Satellite failure shuts down 150 TV programs

Last Updated(Beijing Time):2009-02-09 17:05

One hundred and fifty television programs including those on CCTV and satellite channels were cut for up to two hours today in 23 provinces due to a satellite malfunction, CCTV.com reported.

Zhongxing 6B satellite malfunctioned at 10:59am. Some transmission signals resumed at 11:47am and the satellite was functioning normally by 1:11pm, according to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.


http://en.ce.cn/National/Local/20090...18155103.shtml

[gunnut]

Are those people in the streets?

[snowhole]

[snowhole]

7 firefighters are injured. Hope them well...

[snowhole]

https://docs.google.com/View?docid=dggh5mp6_0cmqqrrdb

[snowhole]

Are those people in the streets?

It's Lantern Festival, there are many ppl on the street :S

P.S. There is a thread on this in the Rise of China forum. Can we have the two merged so we have all the info in one thread?

[snowhole]

That looks like one hell of a fire, if that building comes down it won't be pretty ...

BTW: have they been able to make contact with the 8 firefighters inside the building?

They've been rescued and sent to nearby hospital. 2 have come back to consciousness.

[Inst]

Poor Mandarin Oriental. So is the building a write-off, or what? They may have managed to save the building, but what about structural damages?