A terrifying blaze has left nearly 28 people dead.
Authorities are now fearing that the death toll is expected to rise much higher than before as investigations begin to determine what exactly led to the giant inferno.
The tragedy arose at a shoe factory in Jinjiang, Fujian, which is better known as China's shoe capital. The incident was believed to have broken out at noon local time on Thursday on the ground floor of a facility owned by the Huiteng show firm.
The very inflammable show making materials stored inside are what led to the giant flames swiftly engulfing several floors, trapping workers inside. Eyewitness footage captured thick black smoke billowing from the building as desperate employees tried to escape, with some fleeing to the rooftop and others falling from their windows.
A huge emergency response deployed nearly 183 firefighters and rescue workers to the scene. It took nearly five hours for crews to bring that fire under control, finally extinguishing it by 5:40 pm.