China blast zone evacuated over chemical contamination fears

Fires broke out at the blast site in the Chinese port city at 11:40 a.m. local time Saturday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Earlier some monitoring stations detected toluene, chloroform, methylbenzene and volatile organic compounds, all hazardous pollutants, between Wednesday night and noon on Thursday, but their concentrations were decreasing and within normal range because of wind blowing toward the sea, said Feng Yinchang, an environmental expert.

At least 21 firefighters have been killed and many more have gone missing trying to put out the huge fire sparked by powerful explosions at a warehouse here in the north Chinese city, marking possibly the highest number of casualties in the country’s fire-fighting force.

The toll included at least 21 firefighters among the more than 1,000 sent to the disaster. “We can, however, confirm that no deaths have been reported”, a Toyota spokeswoman said. Records at the site were destroyed in the disaster, meaning authorities must rely on customs documents, said Gao Huaiyou, deputy director of occupational safety in Tianjin.

“Nobody has told us anything, we’re in the dark, there is no news at all”, screamed one middle-aged woman, as she was dragged away by security personnel.

Chinese authorities have assured Tianjin residents that the air and seawater in the city has not been contaminated by risky chemicals after a large warehouse filled with hazardous chemicals blew up on Wednesday.

Officials admitted that because of the chaos on the scene, authorities still didn’t know exactly what hazardous materials were being stored in the warehouses.

“We are working to fully assess the situation and assist our employees who have been injured or impacted”, Golden said, adding that some employees and their families have been unable to return to their homes in the restricted area near the blast site.

Burning flames were still visible on Saturday, and new smaller explosions – thought to be from burning cars – have been reported by witnesses and state media.

Thick smoke billowed from the blast site as most of the fire had been doused.

The warehouse, designed to house risky and toxic chemicals, was storing mainly ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and calcium carbide at the time of the blasts, according to police. Tianjin has a population of 15 million. The Tianjin Economic Development Area has attracted foreign investors including Motorola, Toyota, Samsung and Novozymes.

Graphic video from surveillance cameras, posted on Twitter by the People’s Daily China and Xinhua News, shows a man standing near glass doors before the shockwave from the explosion knocks him off his feet and the camera is cut off.