Beijing officials suspended over fatal fire

A deputy district government head in Beijing and two other officials were suspended from their posts Wednesday after a dorm fire killed 19 in the city's southern suburbs earlier this month.

The municipal authorities said Du Zhiyong, deputy head of the Daxing district government, and two top officials of Xihongmen Township were held responsible for lax safety oversight and failure to prevent the fire.

An investigation has been launched against them and ten lower cadres by the Party's discipline watchdog and the municipal supervision commission.

The fire broke out on the evening of Nov. 18 at a three-story dorm in Xinjian Village in Daxing. The area is popular among migrant workers for its low cost of living. A preliminary probe showed that the 20,000-square-meter apartment bloc was illegally built and the fire was caused by an electric wire fault.

Police initially detained 20, allegedly liable for the fire. Eight were formally arrested on Wednesday.