1 person rescued from blast zone in China’s Tianjin port

The initial blast is believed to have ignited other explosions at nearby companies. “They were caught off guard, so the casualties are grave”, the survivor who was rescued on Friday morning said.

According to The Associated Press, the Tianjin government has put the death toll to 50 after the huge, fiery blasts at a port warehouse for hazardous chemicals.

Authorities also said they have lost contact with 36 firefighters at the scene and 12 of them have been confirmed as among the dead.

About 10,000 new imported cars near the blast site were destroyed, according to Chinese media reports, rows upon rows of shipping containers crushed, and buildings reduced to burnt-out shells.

Cellphone videos of the blast – and images captured by a Japanese weather satellite and shared on social media – showed the skyline of gleaming high-rises silhouetted by the eruption of flame and smoke.

Ships carrying oil and “hazardous products” were barred from the port Thursday, the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration said on its official microblog.

The state-backed China Daily newspaper said its manager had been detained.

The Tianjin disaster occurred just days after another major chemical accident in Nanchong, Sichuan province.

About a mile away Woodruff found vehicles dented, with their windows blown out.

It’s understood the port authority has arranged some un-berthing of bulk ships from midday local time, but there is now no schedule for vessels berthing and it is unknown when the terminals will re-open.

“We are working to fully assess the situation and assist our employees who have been injured or impacted”, Golden said.

“I’ve never even thought I’d see such a thing”.

Quick response from authorities staved off fears of secondary blasts and resultant panic, and saved lives as hundreds of people were evacuated from blast hit areas.

Approval for the facility was granted in 2013 while sales at one of the two closest residential compounds started the same year, suggesting it had “clearly” been built earlier. Tianjin residents, however, remained nervous and skeptical of such official claims, with some posting concerns online about the environmental impact, and suspicions that the public may not be hearing the full truth, the BBC reported.