(Yicai Global) April 19 -- Trading in the shares of Beijing Changfeng Hospital was suspended today, following a deadly fire at its hospital in China’s capital yesterday. Twelve people, including the hospital’s president, have been detained by police.

According to a CCTV news report, the fire broke out at the inpatient department of Changfeng Hospital in Beijing at 12.57 p.m. on Tuesday. As of 9 a.m. today, 29 people had been killed in the blaze, following which Beijing Changfeng Hospital [NEEQ: 870890] suspended trading of its shares.

After a preliminary investigation, the accident was found to have been caused by sparks generated during construction work at the hospital that ignited volatile flammable paint, the Beijing city government said at a press conference.

A person in charge of a private medical institution told Yicai Global that the transfer and evacuation of patients at the hospital during the fire was slow, so it is absolutely necessary to prepare plans and increase the frequency of drills.

The hospital “held a mobilization and deployment meeting for fire prevention and control at once, and made sound arrangements for it” based on to the requirements of government regulators, Beijing Changfeng Hospital said in an article posted on its official website a month ago.

The Beijing hospital is a wholly owned subsidiary of Beijing Changfeng Hospital, according to details available on business information platform Qichacha. It is the only branch in the capital city and Wang Wenjie is listed as the legal representative.

Wang has a college degree and from May 2006 to November 2009, he was president of Beijing Fengtai Changfeng Hospital. From December 2009 to January 2016, he was executive director and manager of Changfeng Hospital. Since January 2016, he has been chairman and general manager of the company.

In addition to the capital, Beijing Changfeng Hospital also has hospitals in 20 other Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Nanning, Guangzhou, Xi’an, Hefei, and Changsha.

Per its official WeChat public account, Beijing Changfeng Hospital is the first company in the field of hemangioma, mainly benign vascular tumors, to be listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, an over-the-counter stock market in Beijing.

Beijing Changfeng Hospital lost CNY32.6 million (USD4.7 million) in the first half of last year after operating income fell 5 percent from a year earlier to CNY253 million (USD36.8 million), it said in an earnings report. It mainly blamed the pandemic.

Editors: Shi Yi, Peter Thomas