A catastrophic inferno has ravaged the Huiteng Footwear factory in Jinjiang, China's "shoe capital", leaving at least 28 people dead and scores injured. The devastating blaze broke out around noon local time on Thursday, with footage showing a massive building engulfed in flames and thick plumes of black smoke billowing into the sky. President Xi Jinping has demanded those responsible be held to account for the "major casualties" suffered.
Jinjiang, located in Fujian province, is home to one-fifth of global sports shoe production, with the Huiteng factory playing a crucial role in international supply chains. The scale of the disaster prompted an immediate emergency response, with hundreds of rescue workers deployed and over 200 people evacuated from the scene.
Early indications suggest that the fire may have originated on the ground floor, where flammable materials were stored. In a swift crackdown, authorities have detained several individuals linked to the factory's owners and frozen the company's bank account.
The tragedy comes against a backdrop of increased scrutiny on fire safety in China, following a nationwide campaign launched after a blaze in Hong Kong apartment complexes last November resulted in 168 fatalities. The ongoing challenges in industrial safety standards highlighted by this latest disaster underscore the need for urgent reforms to prevent such tragedies from occurring.