Death toll rises in China blasts

The explosions occurred at night and they struck a mostly industrial zone otherwise the death toll could have been much higher.

Two days after twin explosions devastated a warehouse area in northeast China, officials say the death toll has risen to 56, including 21 firefighters.

More than 700 people were injured in the explosions – the second of which had the equivalent force of 21 tonnes of TNT and sent a giant fireball into the night – and 58 people remain in a serious or critical condition. Over a hundred people had registered at the center for blood donations only four hours after the blasts, and up until 5 p.m. on Thursday, the registration spots for the next day had been full. 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.

The man suffered from respiratory tract burn but was in a stable condition after emergency treatment, said Li Jingmei, a doctor from the No. 254 hospital in Tianjin.

Scores of firefighters were already on the scene before the explosion, responding to a fire, and at one city hospital a doctor wept over a dead firefighter still in uniform, his skin blackened from smoke, as he was wheeled past along with two other bodies.

Authorities in the city of Tianjin have so far been unable to identify the cause of the blast, adding to concerns over the security of hazardous chemicals stored within the disaster zone.

No one warned them of the risk that there could be dangerous chemicals that would react violently with water, said the report, which was later taken down from the website.

More than 360 social media accounts have been shut down or suspended for “spreading rumours” about the blasts, Xinhua reported citing the Cyberspace Administration of China.

China has said that it will conduct nationwide inspections of businesses that handle dangerous chemicals following explosions that killed dozen of people.

Meanwhile, residents in a relocation site of the blasts have been evacuated in fear of chemical pollutants in the air. “We’re now doing all we can to rescue the missing”. “The land was near normal logistics warehouses when we acquired it in April 2010”, the company said in an emailed statement.

The disaster has raised questions about whether dangerous chemicals were being stored too close to residential compounds, and whether firefighters may have triggered the blasts, possibly because they were unaware the warehouse contained chemicals combustible on contact with water. Relatives said around 25 fire fighters they said were missing were young contract workers not part of official city fire brigades.

Employees from John Deere were among those injured in an explosion in China.