Flames engulfed a luxury hotel that forms part of the landmark new headquarters of Chinese state television yesterday after sparks from fireworks set off to celebrate the biggest holiday of the year showered the capital.

The wail of police sirens from hundreds of vehicles racing to the building was almost drowned by the constant eruptions from firecrackers and fireworks being lit to mark the Lantern Festival, which is the final day of the Chinese New Year holiday.

The flames shooting up the side of the 44-storey building sent off plumes of black smoke and showered the ground with embers. At least seven fire crews fought to bring the fire under control.

The Television Cultural Centre was to have housed the 241-room Mandarin Oriental Hotel as well as a theatre and recording studios. It formed the smaller of two huge buildings that make up the China Central Television complex due to be completed towards the end of this year at a cost of about $730 million (£490 million).

One man who lived nearby watched with his young daughter as the ultra-modern building, with its broad base narrowing as it stretched skywards, was destroyed. “I saw this building grow higher day after day. I feel terrible to see it on fire. I won’t be able to sleep if I haven’t seen the fire go out,” he said.

Police and paramilitary moved bystanders back several hundred yards from the tower. One officer said: “This is dangerous. It could even fall down and the debris could reach this far.”

Another explained that mobile telephone signals around the site had been jammed to enable emergency services to operate.

Li Jian, a bystander, said that he saw smoke rise from the roof shortly after a huge burst of fireworks showered it with sparks. It was not clear if that was the cause of the blaze however. He said: “Smoke came out for a little while, but then it just started burning.”

As the fire caught hold an entire wall could be seen blazing red and orange. The inferno was reflected in the glass wall of the neighbouring dramatic Z-shaped structure that is to be the headquarters of CCTV and will be one of the biggest buildings in the world.

News bulletins carried by the state-controlled CCTV said that no one appeared to have been injured in the blaze but it gave no cause for the fire. Many witnesses said it would not be surprising if fireworks had set off the inferno.

The roar of exploding fireworks rocked the city from sunset until midnight — the final deadline for new year celebrations. Beijing waives tight restrictions on the use of fireworks each year for the 15 days of the holiday, which ends traditionally with the Lantern Festival. The festival marks the first full moon since the Lunar New Year and barrages of firecrackers are set off.

The hotel and the CCTV headquarters are an important project for Beijing. The buildings were designed by Netherlands architects Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren for the company OMA and built by British engineering company Arup.

The fire destroyed years of hard work, said Erik Amir, a senior architect of OMA, who rushed to the site. He told the Associated Press: “I think it’s really sad that this building is destroyed before it can be opened to the public.”

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