Thread: Explosions rocks Chinese city of Tianjin

At least 13 dead in China port explosions
34 mins ago

[IMG] http://twitter.com/XHNews/status/631...219456/photo/1 [/IMG]

TIANJIN, China (AP) — Huge explosions sparked overnight at a warehouse for dangerous materials in the northeastern Chinese port of Tianjin killed at least 13 people, injured hundreds and sent massive fireballs into the night sky, officials and state media outlets said Thursday.

CCTV, the state-run broadcaster, said that another 248 people had been admitted to hospitals in the city, east of Beijing. The explosions late Wednesday knocked off doors of buildings in the area and shattered windows up to several kilometers away.

"I thought it was an earthquake, so I rushed downstairs without my shoes on," Tianjin resident Zhang Siyu, whose home is several kilometers from the blast site, said in a telephone interview. "Only once I was outside did I realize it was an explosion. There was the huge fireball in the sky with thick clouds. Everybody could see it."

Zhang said she could see wounded people weeping. She said she did not see anyone who had been killed, but "I could feel death."

Police in Tianjin said at least seven people were killed. They said an initial blast took place late Wednesday night at shipping containers of a warehouse for hazardous materials owned by a logistics company.

The official Xinhua News agency said an initial explosion triggered other blasts at nearby businesses. The National Earthquake Bureau reported two major blasts before midnight, the first with an equivalent of 3 tons of TNT, and the second with the equivalent of 21 tons.

Photos apparently taken by bystanders and circulating on microblogs show a gigantic fireball high in the sky, with a mushroom-cloud. Other photos on state media outlets showed a sea of fire that painted the night sky bright orange, with tall plumes of smoke.

In one neighborhood of Tianjin about 10 to 20 kilometers (6 to 12 miles) from the blast site, some residents were sleeping on the street wearing gas masks, although there was no perceptible problem with the air apart from massive clouds of smoke seen in the distance.

"It was like the earthquake back in 1976 with glass breaking," resident Han Xiang said. "But then there was a huge mushroom cloud so we thought we were also in a war."

State broadcaster CCTV said six battalions of firefighters had brought the ensuing fire under control, although it was still burning. It said the firefighters were combing the neighborhood to look for further injured residents.

The logistics company was identified in state media as Ruihai Logistics. The company says on its website that it was established in 2011 and is an approved company for handling hazardous materials. It says it handles 1 million tons of cargo annually.

Tianjin is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Beijing on the Bohai Sea and is one of the country's major ports.



By Brian Ries, Marcus Gilmer, and Huizhong Wu
4 hours ago

This story was updated at 2:30 p.m. PT with additional details.

A massive explosion rocked the northern city of Tianjin, China, just before midnight local time, according to local reports. Officials report at least 13 people have died and 298 injured, though those numbers are expected to rise, according to the BBC.

One local Twitter user, citing hospital staff, said the emergency room was caring for approximately 300 to 400 injured people, many of whom were burn victims. Another report from CCTV reporter Matt Simon said that 400 people were injured, including four firefighters, with two more firefighters reported missing.

The blast originated from RuiHai Logistics’ warehouse, at Tianjin Dongjiang Port in Tianjin’s Binhai district, east of the city’s main urban area. The warehouse contained “dangerous articles."

The fiery blast was actually two separate explosions in quick succession, with one happening at 11:34 local time, and the second one happening 30 seconds later, the Chinese Seismological bureau said in a post on

NEW DETAILS: Explosion happened at Tianjian Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd. It handles transport of hazardous goods
— Matt Simon (@MSimonTV) August 12, 2015

Chinese media and Weibo users are using Weibo throughout the night to communicate and spread cries for help. lining up at local blood banks to donate their blood at 4:30 a.m. local time.

[IMG] http://twitter.com/PDChina/status/63...483968/photo/1 [/IMG]

The paper also tweeted that the blast from the "mushroom cloud" was felt more than six miles away.

http://mashable.com/2015/08/12/china-explosion/

The explosion was large enough to be detected by satellites.

People's Daily, the Chinese government's state-run newspaper, tweeted that the blast was "caused by explosive material in [a] container."

China Update: Sadly, it appears as if the entire first alarm assignment was in position as the massive explosion occurred. The fireball was so large it could be seen from space. Initial reports are 12 firefighters are known dead and 36 are missing. The destructive explosion and the resulting fire storm required the response of 1000 firefighters operating 140 pieces of apparatus.

Regardless of the language, religion or the flag that flies over your firehouse, it is a dangerous job. Thoughts and prayers for those lost and their families.





Death toll rises to 50 in massive blasts at Chinese port
CHRISTOPHER BODEEN - 7 hrs ago

TIANJIN, China (AP) — The death toll from the fiery explosions at a warehouse of hazardous chemicals climbed Thursday to 50, and the Chinese government sent experts to the shattered and smoldering port to assess any environmental dangers from the spectacular blasts.

More than 700 people were injured and dozens were reported missing in 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 shockwaves.

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 kilometers (75 miles) east 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 gave the death toll of 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 is under way. Some migrant workers at the port may not be documented.

Authorities said the blasts started at the warehouse owned by Ruihai Logistics, a company that says it 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 3 tons of TNT, and the second 21 tons. The enormous fireballs from the blasts rolled through a nearby parking lot, turning a fleet of 1,000 new cars into scorched metal husks.

Zhang Siyu, who lives several kilometers (miles) 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. Everybody could see it," she said.

Zhang said she could see wounded people weeping. She said she did not see anyone who had been killed, but "I could feel death."

State media said senior management of the company had been detained, and that President Xi Jinping demanded severe punishment for anyone found responsible for the explosions.

There was no immediate sign of any toxic cloud in the air as firefighters brought the fire largely under control by morning. However, the Tianjin government suspended further firefighting to allow the team of experts to survey hazardous materials at the site, assess dangers to the environment and decide how best to proceed.

In a sign of sensitivity over the hazardous materials stored at the warehouse, state broadcaster CCTV went live to a news conference in Tianjin when the head of the municipality's Environmental Protection Bureau chief, Wen Wurui, was speaking. He said there had been no apparent impact on air monitoring stations, but that water samples were still being examined.

When a reporter asked him whether the chemicals at the warehouse had been stored far enough away from residences and Wen seemed at a loss for a response, the broadcaster suddenly cut away, only to return to it later.

Police kept journalists and bystanders away with a cordon about 1 or 2 kilometers (about a mile) from the site. On China's popular Weibo microblogging platform, some users said their posts about the blasts were deleted, and the number of searchable posts on the disaster fluctuated, in a sign that authorities were manipulating or placing limits on the number of posts.

The Tianjin Internet Police, on their official microblog, warned social media users to stick to official reports about the number of dead and injured, saying that there would be "zero tolerance for creating rumors."

The website of the logistics company became inaccessible.

The Tianjin government said that because of the blasts it had suspended online access to public corporate records. It was not clear whether the blackout was due to technical damage related to the explosion. No one answered the phone Thursday at the Tianjin Market and Quality Supervision Administration or the Tianjin Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Ruihai Logistics said on its website — before it was shut down — that it was established in 2011 and is an approved company for handling hazardous materials. It said it handles 1 million tons of cargo annually.

Photos taken by bystanders and circulating on microblogs showed a gigantic fireball high in the sky with a mushroom cloud. Other photos on state media outlets showed a sea of fire that painted the sky bright orange, with tall plumes of smoke.

About 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the explosion site is the luxury Fifth Avenue apartment complex on a road strewn with broken glass and pieces of charred metal thrown from the explosion. Like surrounding buildings, the Mediterranean-style complex had all its windows blown out, and some of its surfaces were scorched.

"It's lucky no one had moved in," said a worker on the site, Liu Junwei, 29. "But for us, it's a total loss. Two years of hard work down the drain."

"It had been all quiet, then the sky just lit up brighter than day and it looked like a fireworks show," said another worker on the site who gave only his surname, Li.

Tianjin, with a population of about 15 million, is being promoted by the Chinese government as a center for finance and high-tech industry. The Tianjin Economic Development Area has attracted foreign investors including Motorola, Toyota, Samsung and Novozymes.

The port has grown in importance as companies wanting lower manufacturing costs have migrated to the north from eastern and southern China's manufacturing centers.

In the U.S., the White House sent its condolences, with spokesman Ned Price calling the explosions a tragedy and praising the first responders working to help the injured.

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