Carbon monoxide poisoning behind deaths in Beijing apartment fire

Carbon monoxide poisoning caused the deaths of 19 victims in a fatal apartment fire in the southern suburbs of Beijing on Saturday, authorities said.

The fire broke out Saturday evening at a three-story apartment in Xinjian Village, Daxing District.

Six of the eight injured have been discharged from hospital, according to Beijing's publicity department.

According to the department, the fire started in a basement for cold storage, where refrigeration equipment was going through a testing phase.

Among the deceased, eight were under 18, with the youngest just one year old. The oldest victim was a male aged 60. Most of them were from Shandong, Henan and Hebei provinces, home to many of China's migrant workers.

Beijing police have detained 18 people, including seven who managed the apartment block, seven electricity workers, and four construction workers at the refrigeration facility. None of the 11 workers holds the qualifications required by authorities, police said.

More than 400 people lived in the apartment block and all have been relocated.