China Shoe Factory Blaze Leaves 28 Dead as Xi Demands Answers
Chinese authorities have frozen corporate bank accounts and detained factory staff following a catastrophic blaze that killed 28 people at a major footwear plant in Jinjiang.
The inferno ripped through the Huiteng Footwear facility around noon on Thursday, trapping workers on the roof as thick black smoke billowed into the sky. Emergency services deployed more than 500 responders to the industrial site to battle the flames.
Of the nearly 240 people inside the building when the fire ignited, rescue teams managed to evacuate 213. However, 26 individuals initially reported missing were later discovered dead inside the complex and two rescued workers succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
Initial reports suggest the blaze began on the ground floor among stockpiles of highly flammable materials. The tragedy strikes the heart of Fujian province’s manufacturing sector. Jinjiang is widely dubbed the country’s shoe capital and is responsible for producing a fifth of all sports shoes globally.
The disaster drew immediate condemnation from the highest levels of government. President Xi Jinping demanded rigorous safety overhauls and promised strict accountability for the incident. He urged officials to draw profound lessons from a recent string of deadly industrial failures across the nation.
Workplace and building safety remains a pressing issue in the region. The Jinjiang factory disaster follows a recent nationwide fire prevention campaign initiated after 168 people died in a series of Hong Kong apartment block fires last November.
