BEIJING, July 9 (Reuters) – Firefighters worked to reach people trapped in a burning shoe factory in southeastern China on Thursday as state media reported an unknown number of casualties and President Xi Jinping suggested the blaze may have caused heavy loss of life.
The fire broke out at around noon (0400 GMT) on Thursday in the city of Jinjiang in Fujian province, with some people trapped on the rooftop, state broadcaster CCTV said. It was not immediately clear how many have been killed or injured.
In a directive issued later on Thursday, Xi urged an all-out rescue effort and said the fire had “caused significant casualties”, suggesting the fire may have led to a heavy loss of life.
Videos released by CCTV in the afternoon showed flames engulfing the multi-storey factory and thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Several people, apparently trapped by the blaze, could be seen on the rooftop as smoke swirled around them.
Firefighting efforts were still under way, although open flames had largely been extinguished by about 5:40 p.m. (0940 GMT), a local firefighting official told CCTV. Fire and rescue teams dispatched 183 people and 35 vehicles to the site.
Preliminary findings indicate the fire started on the ground floor of the factory, a local official told CCTV. Shoe-making materials stored in the building were highly flammable and could cause a blaze to spread rapidly, the official said.
Due to the materials and adhesives present, the smell at the scene was quite pungent, causing eye irritation, CCTV said.
Jinjiang, in the coastal Fujian province, is a major footwear and apparel manufacturing hub and is often referred to as China’s “shoe capital”.
The thousands of companies in the city made over 1.2 billion pairs of shoes in 2024, accounting for 20% of global output, according to official data.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Ryan Woo, Ros Russell, William Maclean)
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