Port blast in China Tianjin with death toll of 44

Large-scale explosions took place in Tianjin, the biggest port city in the northeast of China, on Aug. 12 at 11:30 PM. At least 44 people are known to have died and more than 500 injured.

According to the Xinhua news agency report, some 66 of the injured are in serious condition, which is expected to raise the death toll further. It was reported that 12 fire fighters lost their lives. Korean Embassy in China said two Koreans are included in the list of the injured. The two Koreans were staying in a hotel adjacent to the Tianjin port and got injuries by the window broken by blasts, which required five stitches.

The first explosion occurred in a warehouse for hazardous chemicals owned by Ruihai Logistics in the Tianjin port, followed 30 seconds later by the second blast. The China Earthquake Networks Center said, “The magnitude of the first explosion was the equivalent of detonating three tonnes of TNT, while the second was the equivalent of 21 tonnes.”

The root-cause of explosions was not revealed. Based on testimonies of people who heard explosion sound from the warehouse for toxic chemicals in the container port, it is suspected that a shipment of explosives detonated in the warehouse. The warehouse stored explosive and toxic chemicals such as calcium carbide, calcium-silicon alloy and sodium cyanide.

The shockwave from the explosion shook the nearby houses like an earthquake. Windows were broken and 1,000 vehicles parked in the Tianjin port were all burnt-out. The blasts were clearly captured by a satellite. Some 150 ambulances and fire trucks and 1,000 fire fighters were dispatched to the site. According to the AP, residents in one neighborhood of Tianjin about 10 to 20 kilometers from the blast site were out to the street wearing gas masks to avoid massive clouds of smoke seen in the distance. Some local media reported that seven to eight dormitories for construction workers collapsed and 300 workers were buried in a construction site close to the port.

aimhigh@donga.com