The death toll from a fire at a shoe factory in Putian , Fujian province , is expected to soar with dozens of workers still unaccounted for, according to witnesses.
At least 37 people died in the blaze at the Feida workshop in Putian's Xiuyu district, which broke out at 9.50pm on Sunday, and 19 others were seriously injured, Xinhua reported.
Zhang Zhiqiang , a spokesman for the Putian party committee, said yesterday that investigators were still looking into the cause of the fire and that the death toll was unchanged.
However, people in the city said more than 100 workers had been working in the street-front building at the time. They said it was a warren of operations, housing a warehouse for the shoe factory, workshops, dormitories and dining rooms.
Zhu Mulan, who was working in a workshop on the second floor when the fire erupted, said she heard a loud bang and was later told that a high-voltage power line had exploded on the ground floor, setting raw materials on fire.
'I was sitting next to the staircase. However, when I tried to go downstairs to flee, I was pushed back by dark, choking smoke,' the 27-year-old mother of two said.