Firefighters and rescue workers in China struggled to put out a blaze at a shoe factory on Thursday, with "heavy losses" of life feared, according to President Xi Jinping.
State television CCTV showed nearly 200 firefighters working to extinguish the blaze on the facade and inside a multi-storey building, as thick black smoke billowed out. People were seen taking shelter near windows and on the building's roof, as the fire raged on the lower floors.
President Xi Jinping called for intensified search and rescue efforts.
“The cause of the fire should be identified as soon as possible ... and those responsible must be held strictly accountable,” Xi told CCTV.
