A fire broke out at a shoe factory in Jinjiang City, Quanzhou, Fujian, China, at noon on the 9th, resulting in 28 fatalities so far.
An evening report from Xinhua News Agency indicated that, according to relevant departments, the fire at the Huiteng Footwear Company factory building in Jiangtou Village, Chendai Town, Jinjiang, Fujian, has led to 28 deaths.
The fire occurred at noon that day, but it was not until nearly 6 p.m. that the blaze was finally extinguished. The exact cause of the fire still needs further investigation.
The person in charge of the company and other relevant individuals have been detained, and the company accounts have been frozen.
According to CCTV News reports, the fire first broke out in the punching workshop on the first floor, where the burning materials were those used in shoe manufacturing, which are flammable and caused the fire to spread rapidly.
Onsite audio and visual footage shows that the burning factory building is 4 or 5 stories high, with thick smoke continually billowing from the top and flames leaping from within the structure. Dozens of people were trapped on the roof.
Firefighters stated that a large amount of debris was piled in the stairwells of the factory, which seriously hampered fire extinguishing efforts and presented obstacles for rescue work.
Chendai Town in Jinjiang is known as the “Shoe Capital of China”. According to public information, more than 7,000 shoe and supporting enterprises are concentrated here, with an annual production of over one billion pairs of sports shoes.
Public information shows that Fujian Huiteng Footwear Co., Ltd. was established in 2015, with its business scope covering leather, fur, feather and their products, as well as shoemaking. The company's registered capital is 10 million yuan, with 6 million yuan paid in.