A massive fire that broke out Thursday at a shoe factory in the city of Jinjiang in Fujian province in southeastern China caused "many casualties," the state news agency Xinhua reported. Footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV showed flames engulfing the multistory factory, thick black smoke rising into the sky and several people trapped on the roof.
Firefighters worked at the scene for hours in an effort to bring the blaze under control and rescue those trapped inside the building.
A short while ago, a fire broke out at a shoe factory, trapping multiple people inside as emergency rescue teams rushed to the scene in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China. pic.twitter.com/pUIuedqrwJ
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) July 9, 2026
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered authorities to "make every effort to carry out rescue operations, determine the cause of the accident and severely punish those responsible," Xinhua reported. According to the report, the fire broke out at around noon local time, and by 5:40 p.m. most of the visible flames had been extinguished, a local fire official told Chinese television.
Initial findings indicated that the fire began on the ground floor of the factory, and that highly flammable raw materials used in shoe production and stored in the building accelerated the spread of the flames. According to the report, a pungent odor rose from the scene because of the materials and adhesives at the site, causing eye irritation.
Jinjiang, a coastal city in Fujian province, is a global hub for shoe and garment manufacturing and is known as the "shoe capital of China." The thousands of companies operating in the city produced more than 1.2 billion pairs of shoes in 2024, about 20% of global output, according to official data.
