Tianjin blast: At least 17 dead, hundreds injured as blasts from hazardous materials

HugeexplosionsatawarehousefordangerousmaterialsinthenortheasternChineseportofTianjinkilledatleast17people,injuredhundredsandsentmassivefireballsintothenightsky,officialsandeyewitnessessaidonThursday.

CCTV,saidthatatleast17peoplewerekilledandthat32wereincriticalconditioninhospital.About400wereinjured.TheexplosionslateonWednesdayknockedoffdoorsofbuildingsintheareaandshatteredwindowsuptoseveralkilometersaway.

"Ithoughtitwasanearthquake,soIrusheddownstairswithoutmyshoeson,”TianjinresidentZhangSiyu,whosehomeisseveralkilometersfromtheblastsite,saidinatelephoneinterview.

“OnlyonceIwasoutsidedidIrealiseitwasanexplosion.Therewasthehugefireballintheskywiththickclouds.Everybodycouldseeit.”

Zhangsaidshecouldseewoundedpeopleweeping.Shesaidshedidnotseeanyonewhohadbeenkilled,but“Icouldfeeldeath".

PoliceinTianjinsaidaninitialblasttookplaceatshippingcontainersinawarehouseforhazardousmaterialsownedbyRuihaiLogistics,acompanythatsaysit’sproperlyapprovedtohandlehazardousmaterials.Statemediasaidseniormanagementofthecompanyhadbeendetainedbyauthorities.

Trucks pass a bridge near the explosion site in the Binhai New Area in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Aug. 13, 2015.

Itispartofanindustrialpark,withsomeapartmentbuildingsinthevicinity.

Aninitialexplosiontriggeredotherblastsatnearbybusinesses.TheNationalEarthquakeBureaureportedtwomajorblastsbeforemidnight,thefirstwithanequivalentof3tonnesofTNTandthesecondwiththeequivalentof21tonnes.

China’sPresidentXiJinpingurgedfulleffortstorescuethoseinjured,statemediasaid.Hedemandedthatauthoritiesquicklycontrolandextinguishthefire,and"makefulleffortstorescueandtreattheinjuredandensurethesafetyofpeopleandtheirproperty",ChinaCentralTelevisionsaidonitsofficialmicroblog.

About2kmfromtheexplosionsiteistheluxuryFifthAvenueapartmentcomplexonaroadstrewnwithbrokenglassandpiecesofcharredmetalthrownfromexplosion.Likesurroundingbuildings,theMediterraneanstylecomplexhadallitswindowsblownoutandsomeitssurfaceswerescorched.

“It’sluckynoonehadmovedin,”saidaworkeronthesite,LiuJunwei,29.“Butforusit’satotalloss.Twoyearshardworkdownthedrain.”

“Ithadbeenallquiet,thentheskyjustlitupbrighterthandayanditlookedlikeafireworksshow,”saidanotherworkeronthesitewhogavejusthissurname,Li.

Inoneneighborhoodabout10to20kmfromtheblastsite,someresidentsweresleepingonthestreetwearinggasmasks,althoughtherewasnoperceptibleproblemwiththeairapartfrommassivecloudsofsmokeseeninthedistance.

“Itwaslikewhatweweretoldanuclearbombwouldbelike,”saidtruckdriverZhaoZhencheng,whospentthenightinthecabofhistruck.“I’venevereventhoughtI’dseesuchathing.Itwasterrifyingbutalsobeautiful.”

AtthenearbyTaidaHospitalasdawnbroke,militarymedicaltentsweresetup.Photoscirculatingonlineshowedpatientsinbandagesandwithcuts.

CCTV saidsixbattalionsoffirefightershadbroughttheensuingfireundercontrol,althoughitwasstillburningintheearlyhoursofThursday.

RuihaiLogisticssaysonitswebsitethatitwasestablishedin2011andisanapprovedcompanyforhandlinghazardousmaterials.Itsaysithandles1milliontonnesofcargoannually.

Tianjin,withapopulationofabout15million,isabout120kmeastofBeijingontheBohaiSeaandisoneofthecountry’smajorports.ItisalsooneofChina’smoremoderncitiesandisconnectedtothecapitalbyahigh-speedrailline.

“Allofasuddentherewasaflashofbigredlightandabigsound,”oneonlineuserwhoclaimedtoliveneartheblastsitesaid.“And10secondsafterwards,therewasabigwave.”

Anotheronlineusersaidthedoorofhisflatwasbrokenbyastrongtremor.

ChinaNationalRadioreportedthatcrackswerevisibleinbuildingsnearthesite.