Four Chinese officials suspended for fatal rest home fire

Fire breaks out in a nursing home at Sanlihe village of Lushan county in Pingdingshan city of Central China's Henan province on Monday, killing 38 seniors.[Photo/chinanews.com]

ZHENGZHOU -- Four county officials have been suspended from their duties after a fire claimed 38 lives at a rest home in central China's Henan Province on Monday night.

The officials include Tian Hanlin, deputy head of Lushan County, and Liu Dagang, head of the county's civil affairs bureau, as well as Liu's subordinate Wang Zhanwen and police officer Gao Feng.

The decisions were announced by the Pingdingshan city committee of the Communist Party of China. Pingdingshan administers Lushan County.

The fire at privately owned Kangleyuan Rest Home also injured six elderly people. The cause of the fire is being investigated.