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A FIRE at a shoe factory in southeastern China's Fujian province has killed 28 people, with authorities launching a major rescue operation and investigation into one of the country's deadliest industrial accidents this year.
The blaze broke out on Thursday at Huiteng Shoe Company in Jinjiang, a major manufacturing centre for sports footwear, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an "all-out search and rescue effort" following the incident, calling for a swift investigation into the cause of the fire and urging authorities to "strictly hold those responsible accountable".
The cause of the blaze has not yet been determined.
Authorities said 237 factory workers and two visitors were inside the five-storey building when the fire started. Rescue teams managed to evacuate 213 people, although two were pronounced dead after being taken to hospital. Another 26 people who had initially been reported missing were later confirmed dead, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Xinhua reported the factory owner and other individuals responsible for the operation had been taken into custody, while the company’s financial accounts had been frozen as investigations continued.
Footage released by CCTV showed the exterior of the factory blackened by flames and covered in thick white smoke. Earlier video showed fires spreading across multiple floors, with heavy black smoke engulfing the building.
Authorities said the fire began on the first floor of the concrete-structured building, where a workshop and warehouse were located. The presence of highly flammable shoe components contributed to the rapid spread of the flames.
A local fire department official told CCTV that piles of sole materials stored in stairwell areas significantly obstructed firefighters' access to the affected areas and complicated efforts to extinguish the blaze.
The fire department deployed 183 personnel and 35 vehicles to the scene, with open flames brought under control after approximately four hours. Xinhua later reported that more than 500 people took part in the search and rescue operation.
The tragedy has renewed concerns over workplace safety standards in China, where industrial accidents have remained a persistent challenge despite repeated government campaigns to identify and eliminate safety risks.
In May, an explosion at a fireworks factory in Changsha, Hunan province, killed at least 37 people. In 2024, a fire at a refrigeration facility under construction in Xinyu, Jiangxi province, claimed 39 lives.
Official data showed that 18,261 people were killed in nearly 20,000 workplace accidents across China in 2025, although the figure represented a decline from the previous year. - July 10, 2026
