In brief
A blaze raging inside a shoe factory in Jinjiang, Fujian province, has killed at least 28 people according to Xinhua. Video footage shows large flames and black smoke. Jinjiang, known as China’s shoe capital, is home to many manufacturing plants. President Xi has remarked on the incident as having caused "significant casualties". Emergency crews are still battling the fire while authorities investigate causes.
Firefighters battled a blazing blaze at a shoe factory in Jinjiang, a city in Fujian province, which has claimed at least 28 lives so far, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.
Video footage posted by Xinhua shows massive flames erupting from the structure with black smoke billowing into the sky.
Jinjiang is often called the “shoe capital” of China and hosts numerous footwear manufacturing plants. The incident has attracted attention from the highest levels; President Xi Jinping described the disaster as having caused "significant casualties," hinting at a potentially higher death toll.
Emergency services continued to work into the night as they tried to bring the blaze under control and conduct search and rescue operations, while authorities said they would investigate the cause of the fire.
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