Informant38

BEIJING, June 13 (Reuters) Most of 31 people killed when fire swept through a hotel in south China were karaoke hostesses, state media said today, adding that there was a 35-minute delay until firefighters arrived.
The blaze broke out shortly after noon on Friday and spread through three floors of the Huanan Hotel in Shantou, Guangdong province.
"An initial investigation showed that passers-by, not hotel staff, reported the fire and it was fierce before the fire brigade arrived." the China Daily quoted Huang Donghua, of the Shantou Information Office, as saying.
Most of the victims were women working as hostesses in the hotel's karaoke rooms, the China Daily said, quoting a local newspaper.
Fake ID papers had made identifying bodies difficult, it said.