Beijing releases name list of victims in suburban apartment fire

BEIJING -- The name list of victims was released late Monday night following a fatal apartment fire that killed 19 people in Beijing Saturday.

The fire broke out Saturday night at a three-story apartment in Xinjian village, Daxing district in the southern suburb of the city.

According to the list, eight were under 18, with the youngest just one year old. The oldest victim was a male aged 60.

Among the victims, 11 were male (including six minors) and eight female (including two minors). Most of them were from Shandong, Henan and Hebei provinces, which have a large population of migrant workers in China.

Preliminary investigation showed there was a 5,000-square-meter refrigeration facility under construction at the basement of the apartment. Fire-fighters suspect the fire might have started there.

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 qualifications as required by the authority, police said.

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