China shoe factory fire kills 28, owner held as safety concerns resurface

Chinese authorities are investigating a fire at a shoe factory in Fujian province that killed 28 people, in an incident that has again put the focus on worker safety in the country. The blaze tore through the Fujian Huiteng factory in Jinjiang on Thursday, and state-run Xinhua News Agency said on Friday that the search operation had ended.

President Xi Jinping called for a swift investigation into the disaster and said authorities would "strictly hold those responsible accountable". Xinhua said the factory owner and managers had been arrested and the company's accounts frozen.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, 237 workers and two visitors were inside the five-storey building when the fire broke out. Of the 213 people rescued from the factory, two were declared dead after being taken to hospital. Another 26 people who had been missing were later confirmed dead.

Local media footage showed people stranded on the roof of the building as thick black smoke rose around them. Flames could be seen through windows on the upper floors while water from fire engines did not reach them. CCTV said the fire began on the ground floor of the concrete building, where a workshop and a warehouse were located. A local fire department official told the broadcaster that shoe sole material stacked in stairwells slowed firefighters trying to reach the blaze, and CCTV said the material was highly flammable.

CCTV said 183 personnel and 35 vehicles were sent to the factory, and open flames were put out after about four hours. Xinhua later reported that more than 500 people took part in the rescue and search operation. Product listings on online sales and import platforms show Fujian Huiteng makes shoes for Chinese as well as foreign brands.

Jinjiang has thousands of shoe factories and is regarded as the "shoe capital" of China, producing about a fifth of the world's athletic shoes, or more than one billion pairs a year, according to state media and industry reports. The area's rise from small workshops to an export manufacturing hub has often been described by Xi as the "Jinjiang Experience".

Workplace safety has remained a concern in China. In May, an explosion at a fireworks plant in Changsha in Hunan province killed at least 37 people. In 2024, a fire at a refrigeration facility under construction in Xinyu in Jiangxi province killed 39 people. Authorities have repeatedly told businesses to check for workplace hazards, while official data show 18,261 people died in nearly 20,000 workplace accidents across China in 2025, lower than the previous year.

The blaze at the Fujian Huiteng factory has left 28 people dead, triggered an official investigation and led to action against the company's owner and managers, as China once again confronts questions over safety at workplaces.

With PTI Inputs