Cleanup crews rush to recover toxic chemicals
TIANJIN, China — Authorities pulled more bodies from a huge blast site at China’s Tianjin port, raising the death toll to 112 on Sunday as teams rushed to clear dangerous chemicals and prosecutors prepared an investigation into those responsible for the disaster.
More than 700 people were injured and 95 people, including dozens of firefighters, are missing after a fire and rapid succession of blasts late Wednesday hit a warehouse for hazardous chemicals in a mostly industrial area of Tianjin, 75 miles east of Beijing.
By Sunday, authorities confirmed there were several hundred tons of the toxic chemical sodium cyanide on the site at the time of the blasts, although they said there have not been any substantial leaks.
Sodium cyanide is a chemical that can form a flammable gas upon contact with water, and several hundred tons would be a clear violation of rules cited by state media that the warehouse could store no more than 10 tons at a time.
Tianjin officials have ordered a citywide check on any potential safety risks and violation of fire codes, mandating suspension of operations for factories that cannot immediately comply with safety rules. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was in Tianjin on Sunday, visiting those injured and displaced by the disaster.
The country’s top prosecuting office announced Sunday that it was setting up a team to investigate possible offenses related to the explosions, including dereliction of duty.
Zhi Feng, general manager of the warehouse’s operator, Ruihai International Logistics, has been under police watch while he receives medical treatment to ensure he does not flee during an investigation, state media reported, without giving further details. Zhi was hospitalized after being injured in the disaster.
The death toll includes at least 21 firefighters — making the disaster the deadliest for Chinese firefighters in more than six decades — and their toll could go much higher. About 1,000 firefighters responded to the disaster, and 85 of them remained unaccounted for Sunday.
Angry relatives of the missing firefighters and local residents whose homes were destroyed by the blasts showed up at a government news conference Sunday to demand information and accountability.
The explosions late Wednesday happened about 40 minutes after reports of a fire at the warehouse.