Villagers in eastern China stole Adidas sports shoes after a truck carrying the trainers caught fire on the side of a road, according to media reports.

Overheated brakes led to a fire starting in the truck near Lingxi in Zhejiang province and the driver tried to put out the flames and save the stock of 10,000 pairs of shoes by opening the doors and pulling them out.

The driver’s hands and face were burned and he was treated in hospital, but villagers made off with some of the trainers.

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No details were given of how many pairs were stolen in the incident on Saturday, but stock worth three million yuan (US$455,000) was either burned in the fire or stolen, the Modern Express reported.

Police later condemned the looters.

A statement from Wenzhou city highway police said: “What you have taken might be worth half his lifetime savings.”

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Traffic police officer Hu Xinglong told the newspaper that the driver tried to save the stock even though there was a risk that the truck could have exploded.

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The sports shoes were being transported from factories in Fujian province to Adidas’ Chinese headquarters in Suzhou, according to the article.

The remaining shoes were collected by the driver’s company at about 5.30pm on Saturday, about 10 hours after the accident.

The driver left hospital as he had no further money for treatment and is waiting for the insurance company to investigate and reimburse him for the losses, the report said.

This article Chinese villagers loot Adidas trainers after truck catches fire first appeared on South China Morning Post

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