Hundreds hurt in fiery blasts in Chinese port

People had left their high-rises and were sleeping on blankets in the street, with suitcases at the ready, the Beijing Youth Daily reported.

Firefighters arrived at the port at 11:06 pm Wednesday following a report that containers were on fire, said Zhou Tian, head of Tianjin’s public security bureau’s fire department, at a press conference Thursday afternoon.

State broadcaster CCTV said 17 people were killed and more than 400 injured dozens of them critically.

The blasts shattered windows in buildings and cars and knocked down walls in a 2-km radius around the site.

It is followed seconds later by a shockwave that sends debris shooting towards the camera, knocking the man holding it backwards as a fiery mushroom cloud shoots up, filling the air with fireballs and smoke. “My home destroyed”, she said. “I was afraid my family was in danger”.

Hospitals were inundated with hundreds of wounded, some so stunned they were staggering around, CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reports. He said, “I saw a bright light and heard the blast and quickly started to run outside”.

More than 700 have been injured, and there are fears toxic chemicals have been released into the air.

He said his team had revisited an area of the blast site on Friday morning it had not been able to search properly last night as fires were still burning.

Zhang said she could see wounded people weeping, and although she did not see any dead bodies, “I could feel death”. “It was terrifying, but also lovely”.

The logistics company, Ruihai worldwide Logistics, handled chemicals ranging from flammable gases and liquids including compressed natural gas and ethyl acetate to toxic chemicals like sodium cyanide and toluene diisocyanate.

There were scenes of devastation as dawn broke over the northeastern Chinese city of Tianjin after huge explosions rocked the port city later Wednesday night.

Xinhua said an initial explosion triggered other blasts.

But they became concerned when the first explosion took place and the shockwave shook the building.

As is customary during disasters, Chinese authorities tried to keep a tight control over information.

Police are keeping journalists and bystanders away with a cordon as many as a few kilometers (miles) from the site.

Phone numbers listed on the firm’s website were disconnected on Thursday and an email to the company went unanswered.

Photos circulating online showed patients in bandages and with cuts. “All the glass was broken, and I was really afraid”. Damages included blown-out windows and doors and damage to ceilings.

Multinational resource company BHP Billiton said in a statement that its iron ore discharge berths were undamaged, but added said that “shipments and port operations have been disrupted” by the blast and it was working with its customers “to minimize any potential impact”.