Smoke pouring out of Changfeng Hospital in Beijing, as people tried to escape from a fire on Tuesday (April 18).

The death toll rose to 29 on Wednesday (April 19) from a fire at a Beijing hospital that was one of the Chinese capital’s deadliest in at least two decades.

All but three of the 29 dead were patients, officials told a media briefing on Wednesday, with the fire having been put out in half an hour.

Initial checks showed the fire, which mostly affected a wing for critically ill patients, was caused by inflammable painting material at a ward under renovation, the officials said.