PROBE INTO CHINA BLASTS
Up to 114 dead, toxic chemicals found
Authorities pulled more bodies from a massive blast site at China’s Tianjin port, pushing the death toll to 114 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 70 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, 120 kilometres 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 toxic 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 rules, 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 offences related to the massive blasts, including dereliction of duty.
Local officials have been hardpressed to explain why authorities permitted hazardous goods warehouses so close to residential complexes and critical infrastructure, clearly in violation of the Chinese rule that hazmat storage should be 1,000 metres away from homes and public structures.
Many people in the area suffered injuries from glass shattered in the huge fireballs that lit up the night sky Wednesday night.
Authorities temporarily detected the highly toxic hydrogen cyanide in the air slightly above safety levels at two locations, Tianjin environmental official Bao Jingling told a news conference Sunday morning. The contamination Saturday afternoon, at 4 per cent and 50 per cent above the safety level, was no longer detectable later Saturday, Bao said. “These levels are actually very low,” he said. Bao said the cyanide was yet to be detected in water samples.