Fire at Jinjiang Shoe Factory in Fujian Causes Heavy Casualties, Chinese State Media Reports

(CNA Taipei, July 9) A fire broke out at a shoe factory in Jinjiang City, Quanzhou, Fujian, China at noon today. The specific number of casualties has not yet been released by the authorities, but state media reported that it "caused heavy casualties." General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xi Jinping issued instructions in the evening, stating that efforts should be made to fully carry out personnel search and rescue, post-disaster appeasement, and other work, and to quickly investigate the cause of the accident and hold those responsible accountable.

According to reports from Chinese state media such as CCTV News and The Paper, the Jinjiang Fire Rescue Bureau reported that at 12:04 PM today, they received an alarm about a fire at the factory building of Huiteng Shoe Industry Co., Ltd., located at No. 1 East Kaituo Road, Jiantou Village, Chendai Town.

According to online videos, thick black smoke billowed from the fire scene, and firefighters were involved in rescue efforts. As of around 5:40 PM, the open flames had been largely extinguished. Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire originated on the first floor of the factory building.

The official death and injury toll has not yet been disclosed.

However, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency this evening, Xi Jinping attached great importance to this incident and issued instructions, stating that a shoe factory fire in Jinjiang City, Quanzhou, Fujian, "caused heavy casualties." He emphasized the need to fully carry out personnel search and rescue, post-disaster appeasement, and other work, and to quickly investigate the cause of the accident and hold those responsible accountable.

Xi Jinping said that since the beginning of this year, there have been multiple major production safety accidents in China. All regions and relevant departments should draw profound lessons, better coordinate development and security, remain constantly vigilant about production safety, conduct thorough investigations and rectifications of various risks and hidden dangers, meticulously implement safety production measures, resolutely prevent major and extremely serious accidents, and effectively protect the lives and property of the people.

Li Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, issued a directive stating that efforts should be made to fully organize search and rescue, handle post-disaster affairs, prevent secondary accidents, and at the same time, quickly investigate the cause and hold those responsible accountable according to law. The State Council's Safety Committee Office should further guide and supervise all regions to establish a bottom-line and extreme-case thinking, comprehensively investigate production safety risks and hidden dangers, rigorously implement responsibilities and measures, and strictly prevent major and extremely serious accidents.

In accordance with Xi Jinping's instructions and Li Qiang's requirements, the Ministry of Emergency Management has dispatched a working group to the scene to provide guidance. Fujian Province has organized forces to make every effort to treat the injured and handle the scene. Currently, all work is in progress. (Editor: Lu Jia-rong / Zhu Jian-ling) 1150709

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