In brief: China port blast toll climbs to 85
TIANJIN, China – The death toll from an inferno and huge explosions in the Chinese port city of Tianjin climbed to 85 today, including 21 firefighters, with hundreds of people injured and some still unaccounted for.
A rapid succession of explosions late Wednesday – one equal to 21 tons of TNT – were sparked by a fire at what authorities said were shipping containers containing hazardous material at a warehouse, and they struck a mostly industrial zone late at night – otherwise the death toll could have been much higher. But the warehouse was close enough to residences to appear out of compliance with safety regulations, raising questions about whether the facility had properly been authorized.
Few injured after ferry catches fire
MANILA, Philippines – A multistory ferry with 544 passengers caught fire after docking in the central Philippines today, and people jumped into the sea and clambered down the roof deck to escape black smoke. All passengers were safe and only two crew suffered bruises and cuts, officials said.
Video footage showed several men jumping into the water from the MV Wonderful Stars, which was engulfed in smoke as firefighters struggled to put out the blaze hours after the fire broke out.
The ferry had just arrived at a pier in the port city of Ormoc on Leyte Island from nearby Cebu city.
Sarah Jane Balmaceda of the coast guard office in Ormoc said two of the 59 crew were slightly injured and treated in a hospital. Coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said it wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire.
Volcano eruption unlikely to worsen
QUITO, Ecuador – Four blasts inside the Cotopaxi volcano sent ash shooting more than 2 miles into the sky Friday, coating highways, homes and cars just south of Ecuador’s capital with a fine gray powder.
Government scientists said the 19,600-foot snow-capped volcano did not seem to be on the verge of a major eruption.
Authorities nevertheless restricted access to the park that surrounds Cotopaxi and suspended ascents of the peak, which is popular with mountaineers.
The volcano is 30 miles from Quito and it began showing renewed activity in April. Its most recent major eruption was in 1877.
Police seek links in shooting spree
SAO PAULO – At least 19 people were shot to death within the span of about three hours in Brazil’s biggest metropolitan area, law enforcement officials said Friday.
Alexandre de Moraes, the head of the Sao Paulo State Public Safety Department, said at a news conference that police are trying to determine if Thursday night’s shootings in the suburbs of Osasco, Barueri and Itapevi, on the western outskirts of Sao Paulo, are related.
He said 15 of the victims were shot dead in Osasco, three were killed in Barueri and one in Itapevi. Seven people were wounded and are hospitalized.