Search efforts largely concluded on Friday following a fire that killed 28 people a day earlier at a shoe factory in the city of Jinjiang, east China's Fujian Province, local officials said. 

The fire broke out at the Huiteng Shoes factory in Jiangtou Village, Chendai Township, at noon on Thursday. When the fire started, 237 factory workers and two external delivery personnel were in the factory building. 

A total of 213 people were evacuated, but two of them later died despite being treated in hospital. Twenty-six missing persons were confirmed dead, local officials said at a press briefing on Friday. 

The tiles on the walls of the building that caught fire have fallen off and an inspection of the building's safety structure is underway to prevent secondary disasters, according to the officials. 

The Fujian provincial government has established an accident investigation team, which will ascertain the cause of the accident and impose strict accountability on those responsible, the local officials added. 

(With input from Xinhua)