China orders nationwide safety check after Tianjin blasts

People injured in the explosions that hit a nearby chemical warehouse last week hold photos of their wounds as they join a protest outside the hotel where authorities are holding a press conference in Tianjin, China, on August 17, 2015. Meanwhile, more than 80 of the victims have been identified and almost 700 people remain hospitalized for injuries they sustained in the accident.

Dramatic footage of the explosions circulated online as the disaster unfolded, beginning at a chemicals warehouse and spreading to surrounding facilities.

Underscoring the weakness of China’s system of industrial safety, the head of the national organization responsible for those efforts has been placed under investigation for suspected “severe violation of discipline and law” – standard shorthand for corruption – the ruling Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog said Tuesday.

It did not give further details or mention the Tianjin blasts.

The agency said documents showed the company was approved to handle hazardous chemicals between April and October past year. Shockwaves from the explosions were felt by residents in apartment blocks kilometres away in the city of 15 million people.

The death toll from the massive blasts last week rose to 114 after rescuers found two more bodies in the debris, Gong Jiansheng of Tianjin’s publicity department told reporters.

A filing on the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) website confirmed that Ruihai Logistics did not have the correct licence during that period.

The fact that the Tianjin government has yet to provide any concrete answers to the cause of such a devastating event is leaving the city in fear of what could happen in the future.

According to state media reports, Rui Hai company president Yu Xuewei and vice-chairman Dong Shexuan were put “under control” on the afternoon after the blasts. It has not been possible to reach the company since Thursday.

For a third day Monday, angry relatives of the 64 missing firefighters flocked to a hotel to demand information about their loved ones from government officials. “Up until now they have not acknowledged us”, said Li Jiao, whose home was close to the blast site.

The company did not cease working with unsafe chemicals after the license expired.

Firefighters, police and officials held a moment of silence Tuesday for victims of last week’s huge explosions at a warehouse in the Chinese port city of Tianjin that killed at least 114 people and left 70 others missing.

Zong Guoying, party secretary of Tianjin’s Binhai district, said a service centre had been set up for those whose houses had been damaged. Credit Suisse analysts said the explosions could generate insurance losses of between $1 billion and $1.5 billion, citing initial estimates from media.

Drone footage taken by rescue workers and broadcast on state TV channel CCTV indicates that the enormous crater at the centre of the blast had filled with water as early as Friday afternoon, two days after the blast.

Reuters spoke to several captains of tankers and dry bulk freighters that are currently in the Tianjin port region, either waiting to discharge or to leave the port, and all said that operations now seemed to be broadly back to normal.