A firefighter died after a 40-story Beijing luxury hotel, scheduled to open this year, burned down Monday near the end of the Chinese New Year's celebrations, CNN.com reported.
The Mandarin Oriental Hotel was unoccupied at the time of the fire, but one firefighter died of smoke inhalation. Six other firefighters and a construction worker were hospitalized, according to CNN.com.
Police suspect fireworks to be the cause of the fire, according to CNN.com. Central China Television, which is constructing a complex next door to the hotel, apologized after claiming staffers authorized the shooting of fireworks that accidentally started the blaze.
-C.R.
