Chinese police detain owner of hotel where fire killed 19

Police in northeastern China say they have detained the owner of a resort hotel where a fire killed 19 people and injured 23 others.

The public security bureau of the city of Harbin says on its official social media account it’s questioning the legal representative of the Beilong Hot Spring Leisure Hotel on suspicion of negligence leading to Saturday’s fire.

The disaster added to a string of deadly blazes that have plagued China despite official efforts to improve public safety over the past two decades.

State TV says the fire broke out at the four-story hotel in Harbin’s Sun Island recreation area at 4:36 a.m. and was extinguished at 7:50 a.m. by a force of 105 firefighters with 30 firetrucks.