Twenty-one people were killed after a fire broke out in the east wing of the inpatient department of a hospital in China's capital Beijing, the Beijing Daily reported on Tuesday.

The fire broke out at around 12:57 p.m. and was extinguished at around 13:33 p.m. after an emergency team rushed to the scene of the accident in Beijing's Changfeng Hospital, according to the Beijing Daily.

A total of 71 people were evacuated and transferred after the rescue work. As of 6 p.m. 21 had died after being transferred to hospital for treatment, the Beijing Daily reported.

"It's tragic. I can see the accident from the window of my house. A lot of people were standing on the air conditioning unit at noon, and some even jumped off," said a Weibo netizen.

Hospital fires are rare in China, and the cause of the blaze is still being investigated.