Death toll climbing in China port blasts
TIANJIN, China – 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 75 miles east of Beijing.
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 underway. 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.
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.