The death toll in a shoe factory fire in southeast China has risen to 37 from 34, with another 19 people injured, local authorities said on Monday.

The blaze broke out at 9:50 PM on Sunday at the "Feida" workshop where shoe uppers were made, in Hushi Township, Xiuyu District, Putian City, Fujian Province, but was extinguished one hour later.

Initial investigations showed 56 workers were in the workshop at the time of the fire, which spread over 520 square meters, Zhu Qing, director of the information office of the Fujian provincial government, said at a news briefing on Monday.

The owner of the workshop had been detained, Zhu said.

Sources from Xiuyu District government said the factory was operating without a license.

All the injured were being treated in hospital, Zhu said.

A working group led by Liang Jiakun, deputy director of the State Administration of Work Safety, had been dispatched to Putian to investigate the accident, he said.

Local authorities were continuing their investigations, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency October 22, 2007)