China warns of change of wind spreading toxic substances at blast site

Police are evacuating everyone within three kilometres of the blast site amid reports more explosions have rocked the northern Chinese city, CNN reports. At least 21 firefighters are among the dead and an unknown number remain missing.

The enormous blasts on Wednesday killed at least 56 people and injured more than 700, according to official media, and more firemen were still missing.

Police confirmed the presence of the chemical, fatal when ingested or inhaled, “roughly east of the blast site”, the state-run Beijing News said.

Burning flames were spotted and explosions were reported by witnesses and state media.

The first explosion was huge, but the second was even more powerful – the equivalent of 21 metric tons of TNT or a magnitude 2.9 quake, according to the China natural disaster Networks Center.

“They were caught off guard, so the casualties are grave”, he said.

“We have gone to each and every hospital by ourselves and not found them”, Reuters news agency quoted Wang Baoxia, whose elder brother is missing. Local officials have been hard-pressed to explain why authorities permitted hazardous goods warehouses so close to residential complexes and critical infrastructure.

Wednesday night’s blasts, so large that they were seen by satellites in space, sent shockwaves through apartment blocks kilometers away in the port city of 15 million people.

“The land was near normal logistics warehouses when we acquired it in April 2010”, the company said in an emailed statement. “I want to do what I can to take care of the needs of the victims”, said Liu. Initially, he believes the blaze to be a gas station fire.

Other risky chemicals stored there likely included potassium nitrate and ammonium nitrate, Xinhua said.

The warehouse that caused the explosion is owned by the Tanjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai global company and its officers have been placed under arrest.

The government has ordered a nationwide check on risky chemicals and explosives following the explosions, and China’s cabinet also ordered officials to crack down on illegal activities to ensure safety – while the operators of the Tianjin site have been accused of violating safety rules. 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.

Questions about whether firefighters may have sparked the blasts have been circulating in the Chinese media.

All around the Tianjin Binhai New Area, hundreds of volunteers set up tents to offer medical assistance, food and water to those affected by the blasts.