A serious fire broke out at a shoe manufacturing plant in eastern China, leading to several deaths and the start of an official government investigation.

中國東部的一家鞋廠發生嚴重火災，導致多人死亡，政府已啟動正式調查。

The fire started around noon on Thursday, July 9, at the Huiteng Shoes factory in Jinjiang, a city known as a major center for shoe production. According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, the rescue operation required 183 staff members and 35 vehicles to put out the fire and search for survivors. Reports from the Xinhua News Agency state that there were 239 people in the building, including 237 employees and two visitors. While 213 people were successfully rescued or evacuated, 28 people died.

火災於7月9日週四正午左右，發生在以製鞋中心著稱的晉江市匯騰鞋廠。根據應急管理部的消息，救援行動出動了183名人員與35輛車以撲滅火災並搜尋倖存者。新華社報導指出，當時大樓內共有239人，包括237名員工與兩名訪客。雖然有213人成功獲救或撤離，但仍有28人死亡。

Government officials have emphasized the need for accountability and a thorough investigation. President Xi Jinping ordered a complete search operation and demanded that the cause of the fire be identified quickly, asserting that those responsible must be punished. Consequently, the factory owners and managers have been detained, and the company's bank accounts have been frozen. This incident happens during a time of increased fire safety checks; for example, the Chinese government started a campaign against fire hazards in high-rise buildings last November following serious fires in Hong Kong and Guangdong province.

政府官員強調必須追究責任並進行徹底調查。習近平主席要求全面搜救，並要求盡快查明起火原因，強調責任人必須受到懲處。因此，工廠老闆與管理層已被拘留，公司銀行帳戶亦被凍結。此次事故發生在加強消防檢查期間；例如，中國政府在去年11月，針對香港與廣東省發生嚴重火災後，便開始對高層建築的火災隱患展開整治行動。

The fire has now been put out, and legal action against the factory management is proceeding after the confirmation of 28 deaths.

火勢目前已撲滅，在確認28人死亡後，針對工廠管理層的法律行動正在進行中。