Beijing  - One firefighter died and six others were hospitalized after fire engulfed a newly built hotel tower in Beijing, state media said on Tuesday.

The firefighter died in hospital early Tuesday after emergency treatment failed to save him, the semi-official China News Service said.

A construction manager also needed hospital treatment for the effects of smoke billowing from the tower next to the new headquarters of state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).

Firefighters rescued two workers from the 14th floor of the otherwise empty building after the fire broke out around 8:30 pm (1230 GMT) on Monday, the agency said.

Some 1,000 local residents were evacuated and several main roads and a nearby underground railway line closed, it said.

Flames from the 159-metre tall TVCC tower, which houses the recently completed Mandarin Oriental Hotel, television studios and a cultural centre, could be seen from far afield.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known. But the capital celebrated the end of two-week festival marking the Chinese New Year by letting off tens of thousands of fireworks on Monday evening.

One firework display was held directly in front of the tower, with a witness reporting "crates of rockets everywhere" near the building.

The building stands 200 metres from the iconic "twisted arch" headquarters of CCTV, recently completed and designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and German architect Ole Scheeren.

The multi-billion-dollar complex, which includes the TVCC tower as well as the television centre, is one of the flagships of the current building boom in Beijing.

The 200-room luxury hotel was due to be officially opened in the middle of this year.

Witnesses quoted by the official Xinhua news agency reported seeing large chunks of concrete falling from the tower late Monday.

The blaze was brought under control just after midnight, reports said. (dpa)