China shoe factory fire kills 28 in Fujian province

A major industrial fire in the city of Jinjiang, Fujian province, resulted in the deaths of 28 people on Thursday, 9 July 2026. The blaze occurred at the Huiteng Shoes factory, a facility located in the Jiangtou village of Chendai township. The incident is currently the subject of an investigation, with authorities already detaining the factory owner and other relevant personnel while freezing the company’s financial accounts.

The fire began around noon local time on the ground floor of a five-story concrete building. According to reports from the Jinjiang fire department, the facility contained a workshop and a warehouse, where highly flammable raw materials, such as adhesives and shoe components, were stored. These materials are believed to have contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze, which quickly engulfed multiple floors. Footage broadcast by state media, including CCTV, showed thick black smoke billowing from broken windows and individuals seeking refuge on the roof and near windows as the fire raged below.

Media additions

Rescue operations involved an extensive deployment of emergency services. While initial reports cited the attendance of 183 firefighters and 35 vehicles, official figures later indicated that more than 500 emergency personnel were eventually involved in the effort to extinguish the flames and search the site. Jinjiang fire chief Du Zhenzhou noted that responders encountered significant difficulties in accessing the upper levels of the structure because stairwells and emergency exits were obstructed by piles of shoe-making materials.

There were 239 individuals inside the building at the time of the fire, consisting of 237 workers and two delivery people. While 213 people were successfully evacuated—two of whom were pronounced dead after transport to a hospital—the confirmed death toll reached 28 after further searches.

Industrial Context and Official Response

Jinjiang is recognized globally as a primary hub for athletic footwear manufacturing, often referred to as China’s "shoe capital." The city’s footwear sector consists of thousands of companies that in 2024 manufactured over 1.2 billion pairs of shoes, accounting for 20% of global output.

President Xi Jinping addressed the disaster, describing the event as having caused "heavy human losses." In comments relayed by the state news agency Xinhua, the President demanded an all-out search and rescue effort and called for a swift identification of the fire's origin, stating:

"The cause of the accident should be identified as soon as possible and... those responsible must be strictly held accountable."

Xi Jinping, President of China, via Xinhua

This incident follows a series of industrial safety accidents in China throughout the year. In May 2026, a fatal explosion at a fireworks factory in the central province of Hunan killed 37 people. These recurring events have prompted calls from leadership for all regions and departments to implement more rigorous and effective safety measures. China previously initiated a nationwide campaign against fire hazards in high-rise buildings in November, after a huge blaze engulfed several tower blocks in Hong Kong, killing 168 people, which was followed a month later by a fire in a residential building in Guangdong province that killed 12 people.

Recent Industrial Incidents

Official data indicates that 18,261 people died in nearly 20,000 workplace accidents across the country in 2025.