China still mum on cause of Tianjin blast
Death toll up to at least 50 people
TIANJIN, China — The death toll from the fiery explosions at a warehouse for hazardous chemicals climbed to at least 50 Thursday as the Chinese government sent experts to the smouldering port to assess any environmental dangers from the spectacular blasts.
More than 700 people were injured and dozens were reported missing after the explosions shortly before midnight Wednesday that demolished a workers’ dormitory, tossed shipping containers as if they were toy blocks and turned a fleet of 1,000 new cars into scorched metal husks.
Windows were shattered for miles around by the shock waves.
There was no indication of what caused the disaster in one of China’s busiest ports and authorities tried to keep a tight rein over information by keeping reporters well away from the site.
Social media users complained their posts about it were deleted.
More than 1,000 firefighters were sent to the mostly industrial zone in Tianjin, a petrochemical processing hub about 120 kilometres southeast of Beijing.
Tianjin is the 10th largest port in the world by container volume, according to the World Shipping Council, and the seventh-biggest in China.
It handles vast amounts of metal ore, coal, steel, cars and crude oil.
Ships carrying oil and “hazardous products” were barred from the port Thursday, the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration said on its official microblog. It also said vessels were not allowed to enter the central port zone, which is near the blast site.
The municipal government, which estimated the death toll to have hit at least 50, said 701 people were injured, including 71 in serious condition.
The Tianjin Port Group Co. said dozens of its employees were unaccounted for and a search was underway.
Some migrant workers at the port may not be documented.
Authorities said the blasts started at a warehouse owned by Ruihai Logistics, a company that stores hazardous materials, including flammable petrochemicals, sodium cyanide and toluene diisocyanate.
An initial explosion apparently triggered an even bigger one.
The National Earthquake Bureau said the first blast was the equivalent of three tonnes of TNT and the second 21 tonnes.
Enormous fireballs from the blasts rolled through a nearby parking lot, destroying the fleet of new cars.
Zhang Siyu, who lives several kilometres from the blast site, said she ran from her home without her shoes because she initially thought it was an earthquake.
“Only once I was outside did I realize it was an explosion. There was the huge fireball in the sky with thick clouds,” she said.
State media said senior management of the company had been detained and President Xi Jinping demanded severe punishment for anyone found responsible for the explosions.
There was no immediate sign of any toxic cloud as firefighters brought the inferno largely under control by morning.
However, the Tianjin government suspended further firefighting to allow a team of experts to survey hazardous materials at the site and decide how best to proceed.