A fire at a shoe factory in southeastern China left casualties on Thursday, state broadcaster CCTV reported, as firefighters labored to extinguish the blaze and rescue folks trapped inside.
The fire broke out at round midday (0400 GMT) on Thursday in town of Jinjiang in Fujian province, with some folks trapped on the rooftop, CCTV mentioned. It was not instantly clear what number of have been killed or injured.
Videos launched by CCTV confirmed flames engulfing the multi-story factory and thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Several folks, apparently trapped by the blaze, might be seen on the rooftop as smoke swirled round them.
Firefighting efforts have been nonetheless underway, though open flames had largely been extinguished by about 5:40 p.m. (0940 GMT), a neighborhood firefighting official instructed CCTV. Fire and rescue groups dispatched 183 folks and 35 autos to the location.
Preliminary findings point out the fire began on the bottom flooring of the factory, a neighborhood official instructed CCTV. Shoe-making supplies saved in the constructing have been extremely flammable and will trigger a blaze to unfold quickly, the official mentioned.
Due to the supplies and adhesives current, the odor on the scene was fairly pungent, inflicting eye irritation, CCTV mentioned. Jinjiang, in the coastal Fujian province, is a serious footwear and attire manufacturing hub and is also known as China’s “shoe capital.”
The 1000’s of firms in town made over 1.2 billion pairs of sneakers in 2024, accounting for 20% of worldwide output, in keeping with official information.