Police detain runaway hotel fire suspect

Police on Thursday caught a runaway suspect responsible for a deadly fire that has killed 20 in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The fire started early Saturday morning at Beilong Hot Spring Leisure Hotel in Songbei District, and was put out hours later.

Police said the runaway suspect, Li Yanbin, was responsible for the hotel's fire safety and was found to have fled the premises after the fire broke out. Police offered a bounty up to 300,000 yuan (US$43,900) for tips of her whereabouts.

An initial police investigation blamed the hotel's fire safety as the cause of the accident.

The legal representative of the hotel is under criminal detention while two other hotel managers are under investigation.