A fire broke out Thursday at a shoe factory in China’s eastern Fujian province, leaving 28 people dead, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a call for “an all-out search and rescue effort,” pushing for a rapid investigation and saying authorities should “strictly hold those responsible accountable.”
The fire ignited at a facility belonging to the Huiteng shoe company in the city of Jinjiang, according to a statement from the city’s fire department. The cause of the blaze remains unknown at this time.
At the time the fire broke out, 237 factory employees and two visitors were inside the building. Emergency crews were able to evacuate or rescue 213 of those individuals. Of the 28 fatalities, two victims were pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Xinhua reported that the factory’s owner and other individuals in leadership positions have been taken into custody, and the company’s financial accounts have been frozen.
Video footage from CCTV showed the exterior of the multi-story building heavily scorched and blanketed in white smoke. Earlier video captured flames burning across several floors as thick, black smoke engulfed the structure.
Jinjiang, where the fire occurred, holds a notable distinction — it is widely regarded as China’s shoe manufacturing capital.
