According to the CCP’s official media, at around 6:07 am on February 16, 2023, a fire broke out at No. 1 Pearl Lake Road, Weitang Town, Suzhou. The accident resulted in the death of 6 people, and another 28 people were sent to the hospital for treatment, 2 of whom were seriously injured and not life-threatening.
In fact, the fire broke out at the Changhong Hotel. The report from the authorities neither mentioned the hotel nor specified which unit was on fire.
According to informed netizens, the second, third, and fourth floors of the building where Changhong Hotel is located are hotels with a total of 28 rooms. It opened in 2009 and was renovated in 2015. The first floor is the entrance and exit of shops and hotels. When the fire broke out, all the guests in the hotel were sleeping. After hearing the shouts, some jumped off the building, some hung on the outside of the air conditioner, and some rescued themselves through knotted curtains. Many people were injured by jumping from the 3rd floor.
Residents nearby reported that the fire started from the front desk of the hotel on the first floor to the guest rooms upstairs. There was nothing on the first floor, and everything inside was burned up.
However, according to the official notification, 9 units were found in “No. 1 Pearl Lake Road, Weitang Town”:
The analysis pointed out that the fire burned for an entire hour, but caused 34 deaths and injuries. The authorities did not mention “Changhong Hotel” in the report, and there may be hidden secrets in it.
Judging from the situation at the scene, the fire was extremely violent:
Not only was the first floor a sea of flames, but the windows on the second and third floors also burst into flames:
A man wearing only a pair of underwear climbed down a ladder:
Before the fire broke out, the appearance of Changhong Hotel:
The aftermath of the fire: