A fire broke out at a shoe factory in Jinjiang, a city in southeastern China's Fujian Province known as the "City of Shoes," leaving numerous casualties.
According to state media including China Central Television (CCTV) and the official Xinhua News Agency on the 9th, the fire broke out at a shoe factory in Jinjiang at around 12:04 p.m. local time that day, prompting firefighting authorities to conduct extinguishing and rescue operations.
Firefighting authorities deployed 183 firefighters and 35 fire trucks, bringing the main blaze under control at around 5:40 p.m.
At the time of the fire, black smoke billowed from the factory building, and some workers were reportedly trapped inside. CCTV reported that the fire caused casualties but did not disclose the specific number of dead and injured.
Immediately after the accident, Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed authorities to "make all-out efforts to rescue lives, treat the injured and support bereaved families, swiftly determine the cause of the accident and sternly hold those responsible accountable."
He also stressed, "Major safety accidents have occurred one after another domestically this year," adding, "Each region and relevant department must deeply learn the lessons, thoroughly implement responsibility for safe production, closely inspect various risk factors and resolutely prevent major accidents." Premier Li Qiang also ordered that the cause of the accident be swiftly identified and that responsibility be assigned in accordance with the law.
More than 7,000 footwear companies are clustered in Jinjiang, which serves as a production base for China's major sports brands.
