Fire continues to rage in China as death toll mounts to 56

Some reports said 36 firefighters are missing since the blasts late Wednesday that killed at least 56 people and wounded more than 720 people in what is described as one of China’s worst industrial disasters.

New reports claim further explosions have shaken Tianjin at the site of Wednesday’s devastating blasts which killed more than 80 people.

In a silver lining to an otherwise grim day, a 19-year- old firefighter, Zhou Ti, was pulled out over 32 hours after blasts ravaged the areas. With about 6,000 Tianjin residents forced from their homes and countless others unsure whether it was safe to breathe the air, government officials have struggled to reassure the public there was little danger.

Some local media reported earlier that Rui Hai Logistics, owner of the warehouse which is licensed to store risky chemicals, had as much as 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide, but Gao said it was not yet verifiable.

Tianjin is a city of about 15 million people in northeast China, about 100 miles outside Beijing.

A man was found alive 50m from the blast core, Xinhua news agency said. They also have been publicly reticent about suspicions that firefighters may have sparked the explosions by spraying water on volatile chemicals. “I covered my head and don’t know what happened after that”. Its website says the company is authorized to handle chemicals ranging from flammable gases and liquids, including compressed natural gas and ethyl acetate, to chemicals that explode on contact with water, including sodium cyanide and calcium carbide.

The State Council said a nationwide inspection of risky chemicals and explosives would be launched, along with a crackdown on illegal activities to strengthen industry safety.

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace warned that substances from the site could be risky, saying it was “critical” that the potential toxins in the air were monitored closely.

Mdm Yang, an aunt of a missing Tianjin resident, said: “We’re still searching”.

Residents and relatives were prevented from entering an official press conference on Saturday and could be heard shouting outside.

Meanwhile, the unsafe chemicals stored in the warehouses that exploded can not be determined at the moment, Chinese officials said.

The port of Tianjin is the largest port in Northern China and is the 10th largest port in the world.

Anti-chemical warfare soldiers combing the site also found a survivor Saturday.

One was rescued Friday from the rubble, Xinhua reported, leaving 18 still missing.

Liu Yue, a 25-year-old who lives about 4 kilometers from the blast site said she and others in her neighborhood were only drinking bottled water amid concerns about contamination.

Authorities in Tianjin appeared to have been concerned recently about the handling of hazardous materials at the port.