Twenty-four people died after fire broke out at an Internet cafe in Beijing's university district yesterday - the city's worst blaze in more than 50 years.
Mayor Liu Qi ordered all Internet cafes in the capital to be closed immediately for safety inspections over the next three months.
The blaze broke out between 2am and 3am in the Lanjisu Internet cafe, a converted residential apartment in a compound belonging to the Petroleum Research Institute in Haidian district.
Official reports said the cafe was one of hundreds of establishments operating illegally in the capital. One witness said: 'It was frightening. I heard a person screaming, 'Save me! I don't want to die'.'
Xinhua said the fire was extinguished at 3.30am. Police and firefighters rescued 17 people from the premises, four of whom later died in hospital. Twenty died at the scene.
Witnesses said most victims were teenagers and students from the nearby Science and Technology University.
