A fire at a shoe factory in southeast China left people dead and injured this Thursday (9), state broadcaster CCTV reported. Firefighters are still working to extinguish the flames and rescue people trapped inside. The fire started around 12pm on Thursday (1am Brasília time), in the city of Jinjiang, in Fujian province. It is still unclear how many people were killed or injured. Videos released by state broadcaster showed flames engulfing the multi-story factory and thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Several people, apparently trapped by the fire, could be seen on the roof as smoke surrounded them. Firefighting efforts were still ongoing, although the flames had largely been extinguished by 5:40 pm (6:40 am Brasília time), a local fire department official told CCTV. Rescue teams sent 183 people and 35 vehicles to the scene. Highly flammable material Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire started on the ground floor of the factory. Shoe-making materials stored in the building were highly flammable and helped spread the flames, according to local authorities. Due to the materials and adhesives present, the smell at the location was quite pungent, causing eye irritation, CCTV reported. 'Shoe capital' Jinjiang, in the coastal province of Fujian, is a major footwear and apparel manufacturing hub and is often called the "shoe capital" of China. The thousands of companies in the city manufactured more than 1.2 billion pairs of shoes in 2024, representing 20% ??of global production, according to official data. With information from Reuters.