A massive fire broke out at a shoe factory in Jinjiang, China, prompting an urgent, large-scale emergency response. Approximately 200 fire and rescue personnel were deployed to the site in Fujian province on Thursday to combat the blaze, which has trapped an unknown number of workers inside the multi-story structure.
State media reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed grave concern regarding the incident, stating that “heavy human losses” are expected. In his directive, the President emphasized that no effort should be spared in the ongoing search and rescue operations, while also calling for full support to be provided to the affected families.
As smoke continued to billow from the building, numerous fire trucks were observed on the scene working to extinguish the flames. While local authorities have confirmed that casualties have occurred, they have not yet released specific figures as the situation remains fluid and an “all-out” rescue effort continues.
The Ministry of Emergency Management has stated that a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire is mandatory. The ministry further noted that authorities must learn from this disaster and implement effective measures to prevent such accidents from happening again in the future.
This incident follows a series of recent safety concerns in China. In November, Beijing launched a renewed campaign to enforce fire codes in high-rise buildings and factories following a deadly fire in Hong Kong that claimed 168 lives. Additionally, a separate fire at a residential building in Guangdong province resulted in 12 deaths just one month later.
Dozens of fire trucks were seen dumping water on the burnt multi-story factory as smoke continued to billow from the site.
"Simultaneously, the cause of the fire must be investigated, lessons learned, and effective measures taken to prevent similar accidents from recurring," the ministry said in a statement.
