By Xinhua
Putian (China) : At least 37 people were killed and 19 injured in a shoe factory fire in southeast China, authorities said Monday.
The fire broke out around 9.50 p.m. local time Sunday at a workshop making shoe uppers in Hushi township, Xiuyu district, but was extinguished one hour later.
Initial investigations showed 56 workers were working in the factory at the time of the fire, which spread over 520 sq meters, said Zhu Qing, director of the information office of the Fujian provincial government, at a news briefing.
The police have detained Chen Zongfei, the owner of the factory, and his wife Huang Shubin, manager of the plant.
Xinhua earlier quoted sources from the Xiuyu district government as saying the factory was operating without a license, but according to Zhu, it is duly licensed.
The local government had ordered Chen and Huang in May and September, respectively, to improve the working conditions to meet safety standards, but they failed to do so, Zhu added.
The first floor of the factory was used as a storeroom, the second and third floors as workshops, and the top three floors as dining hall and dorms, he said.