At least 28 killed in shoe factory fire in southeast China, state media says

At least 28 killed in shoe factory fire in southeast China, state media says

A massive fire at a shoe factory in southeastern China killed at least 28 people on Thursday, July 9, 2026, according to state-run media. The blaze occurred at the Huiteng footwear manufacturer in Jinjiang, a city in Fujian province known as China's "shoe capital."

The fire broke out at approximately 12:00 p.m. Local time (0400 GMT) in a five-floor concrete building that housed a warehouse and a workshop on the first level. According to state broadcaster CCTV, preliminary findings indicate the fire started on the ground floor. The presence of adhesives and shoe-making raw materials — which are highly flammable — caused the fire to spread rapidly and created a pungent smell that caused eye irritation.

A total of 239 people were inside the factory when the fire erupted, including 237 workers and two visitors, Xinhua news agency reported. Rescue teams evacuated 213 people, but two of them died later in the hospital. Another 26 individuals, previously reported missing at the scene, were confirmed dead.

Dramatic footage released by state media showed thick black smoke billowing into the sky as flames ripped through the building. Some workers, fleeing the advancing fire and smoke, took refuge near windows or became trapped on the rooftop. Video captured those on the roof waving for help as rescuers arrived.

Emergency response efforts involved 183 firefighters and 35 vehicles, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management. Xinhua later reported that more than 500 people joined the search and rescue operation. Despite these efforts, firefighters struggled to reach upper levels because shoe materials had been piled up in the stairwells and exits, hampering their progress, according to Jinjiang fire chief Du Zhenzhou.

Open flames were largely extinguished by approximately 4:00 p.m. (0800 GMT) after about four hours of firefighting, though smoke continued to rise from the site into the evening.

President Xi Jinping ordered an all-out rescue effort and demanded a swift investigation into the cause of the blaze. In remarks carried by Xinhua, the President stated that the fire had caused significant casualties and heavy human losses.

"All regions and relevant departments must draw profound lessons from these incidents,"

Xi Jinping, President of China, via ABC News

President Xi noted that this tragedy follows several major industrial safety accidents in the country this year and insisted that those responsible be strictly accountable.

The disaster occurs amid a broader trend of industrial and residential fires. In November, China launched a campaign against fire hazards in high-rise buildings after a blaze in Hong Kong killed 168 people. A month after that event, a residential fire in Guangdong province killed 12 people. More recently, an explosion at a fireworks plant in Changsha killed at least 37 people in May, and a fire at a refrigeration facility in Xinyu killed 39 people in 2024.

Official data indicates that 18,261 people died in nearly 20,000 workplace accidents across China in 2025, though this was a decrease from the previous year. Jinjiang's shoe sector remains a critical economic engine, with thousands of companies producing over 1.2 billion pairs of shoes in 2024, which accounts for 20% of global output.

Authorities have already taken the company's owner and other relevant personnel into custody and frozen the firm's bank accounts. Local officials are now working to identify the exact cause of the fire as soon as possible.