A fire at a shoe factory in the south‑eastern Chinese city of Jinjiang has killed at least 28 people, according to the state news agency.
Video footage posted by Xinhua showed plumes of black smoke rising from the building and workers trapped on the roof.
President Xi Jinping described the blaze as causing “major casualties” and called for those responsible to be held “strictly accountable.”
Jinjiang in the province of Fujian is known as China’s “shoe capital” and reportedly accounts for roughly 20% of the world’s sports‑shoe production.
The fire erupted at the Huiteng Footwear factory around noon local time (05:00 BST) on Thursday.
Hundreds of rescue workers rushed to the scene and over 200 people were evacuated, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
It remains unclear how many workers suffered injuries.
Initial reports indicate the fire may have ignited on the factory’s ground floor where flammable materials were stored.
Authorities detained a number of workers linked to the factory’s owners and froze the firm’s bank account, Xinhua reported.
China has intensified its campaign to prevent fires in high‑rise buildings following a November blaze in Hong Kong that killed 168 people.
