Fire at shoe factory in China leaves dead and injured

A fire at a shoe factory in southeast China left people dead and injured this Thursday (9), state broadcaster CCTV reported. Firefighters are still working to extinguish the flames and rescue people trapped inside. It is still unclear how many people died or were injured.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping said the fire caused a 'significant' loss of life, according to the Chinese news agency Xinhua. The leader also called for full commitment to search and rescue operations.
The fire started around 12pm on Thursday (1am Brasília time), in the city of Jinjiang, in Fujian province.
Videos released by state broadcaster showed flames engulfing the multi-story factory and thick black smoke rising into the sky. Several people, apparently trapped by the fire, could be seen on the roof as smoke surrounded them.
Firefighting efforts were still ongoing, although the flames had largely been extinguished by 5:40 pm (6:40 am EDT), a local fire department official told CCTV. Rescue teams sent 183 people and 35 vehicles to the scene.
Highly flammable material
Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire started on the ground floor of the factory. Shoe-making materials stored in the building were highly flammable and helped spread the flames, according to local authorities.
Due to the materials and adhesives present, the smell in the building was quite pungent, causing eye irritation, CCTV reported.
'Shoe capital'
Jinjiang, in the coastal province of Fujian, is an important hub for shoe and apparel manufacturing and is often called the "shoe capital" of China.
The thousands of Companies in the city manufactured more than 1.2 billion pairs of shoes in 2024, representing 20% of global production, according to official data.
With information from Reuters.
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Source: G1