Firecrackers blamed for hotel fire near Beijing´s new CCTV headquarters, seven injured

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Beijingers had to stop selling or lighting fireworks in the urban area of the capital as of midnight Monday, and explosives were banned within Beijing's Fifth Ring Road. The area within that road is considered the urban area.

More than 1,000 people in the area were evacuated and traffic controls were imposed around the scene and on the east Third Ring Road, one of several major highways that encircle the capital.

Service on the Number 10 subway line was temporarily halted.

"It is horrible," said a woman surnamed Chang, who lives on the19th floor of an apartment building about 1 kilometer from the CCTV complex.

"There is thick black smoke and high flames. At first we just saw fire on top of the building, but now it is entirely engulfed," she said.

"The building was used during the Olympic Games, but the companies moved out afterwards," said a CCTV staff member surnamed Chen, adding that he didn't know whether there were still people in the building.

Firefighting was hampered by height of the building, as water from the hoses could at most reach 40 meters high.

Beijing is dry during the season, as the city has not seen any rainfall in 106 days.