A fire at a shoe factory in Jinjiang, China caused "significant" casualties, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, ordering officials to pursue an all-out rescue effort and hold those responsible accountable, according to The New York Times.
Fujian Huiteng Shoes, the company that owned the factory and had at least 155 employees on record, was identified as the site of origin for the fire, which ignited around midday local time, according to The Times. State broadcaster CCTV footage captured the scene as people stranded on the roof watched smoke and flames consume the building, while black smoke towered into the sky above the complex.
A local official attributed the fire's starting point to the ground floor, describing this as an early finding in the investigation, according to Reuters. The official noted that the building's inventory of footwear production materials posed a serious fire hazard given their flammability, with adhesives and other chemicals also generating a sharp odor that irritated the eyes of those at the scene, according to Reuters.
By approximately 5 p.m. local time, firefighters had brought the visible flames under control, according to The Times. The response involved 35 vehicles and a team of 183 rescue personnel, according to Reuters.
According to The Times, Xi issued instructions calling on local officials to spare no effort in locating survivors, providing care for the wounded, and determining what caused the blaze. China's Ministry of Emergency Management confirmed casualties in a statement but provided no additional details.
Known informally as China's shoe capital, Jinjiang generated more than 1.2 billion pairs of footwear in 2024 — one-fifth of the world's total supply — through the output of its many manufacturing companies, according to Reuters.