This is a surreal and gruesome yet fascinating sight: a massive fire engulfing the newly built 40-story Mandarin Oriental hotel in the CCTV Complex in Beijing. You can watch the top of the building exploding as fire consumes the entire structure.
CNN has an article compiling first-hand reports from its citizen reporters:
The blaze erupted in the final hours of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration as people set off fireworks across the city.
Xinhua reported that Beijing residents were supposed to stop selling and lighting fireworks by midnight. iReporter de Villeneuve said she
suspects many people in the city were trying to use whatever remaining fireworks they had before the deadline."We have been seeing fireworks for the past two weeks. I have to say this is quite a surprise," she said.
iReporter Rice said he was watching fireworks nearby when he noticed that fireworks were being set off near the buildings.
"Then we looked closer and saw the flames come from the top of the building," Rice said. "Soon became apparent that the building was on fire."
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