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BEIJING - China has formally arrested 12 people for violating controls on dangerous goods following a deadly blaze caused by fireworks at a high-rise belonging to China Central Television, the Beijing News said on Wednesday.
The 30-storey building, just north of the spectacular, gravity-defying CCTV tower designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, burned spectacularly on Feb 9, China's Lantern Festival, killing one firefighter.
An initial investigation found the fire was caused by fireworks banned in the city because they were so powerful.
The 12 arrested include the former head of CCTV's construction office and eight employees of the Sanxiang fireworks company in south Hunan province.
The charge has a maximum sentance of three years imprisonment, although in particularly serious cases the jail term can be extended to seven years.
CCTV had prepared camera crews to film its fireworks, which coincided with the final day of the Lunar New Year holiday when the city sky was ablaze with smaller, legal fireworks displays.
No higher ranking CCTV official has been punished for the fire, which state media initially sought to downplay. The burnt tower was home to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which had been due to open this year.
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