Fires still burning after Tianjin blasts

City residents shared similar fears on social media.

The air near the site was below a safe standard on Friday evening, forcing firefighters and one command headquarter to temporarily vacate the site.

The explosions took place in a mostly industrial economic development zone, with some apartment buildings in the vicinity. Ltd., a company that stores and transports risky chemicals. Flames at the warehouse site have “basically” been put out, it said.

Authorities have not said what caused the explosions, saying only that they originated at the warehouse owned by Ruihai global Logistics.

Officials have acknowledged that at least 700 tonnes of sodium cyanide, a compound that releases highly toxic gas, was stored at the warehouse. John Deere travelers already in the area were asked to locate temporarily to Beijing because of concerns over air quality and the stress of local emergency medical services, he said.

Gao said identifying the substances in the warehouse was made harder by significant differences between the accounts held by the company, and the customs records.

What is the environmental toll? “It was complete darkness [and] my buddies were badly injured“, said one firefighter who managed to escape, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Videos and photos of the blast showed a large fireball, with a mushroom cloud rising into the night sky.

Water discharge points to the sea had been closed, he said. Firefighters initially responded to a fire at the warehouse and many of them apparently were killed by a series of explosions triggered 40 minutes after the fire was reported.

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

Greenpeace warned that the possibility of rain Friday could pose more challenges by setting off reactions and washing chemicals into the ground. But the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Officials didn’t address the issue directly at the news conference Friday morning. Ltd., which was founded in 2011 and is a storage and distribution centre of containers of hazardous goods at the Tianjin port.

The agency’s director urged the executives to carry out safety management, the notice said.

How many lives did the explosions claim? Authorities said the toll could have been much higher if the disaster hit a more populated area. They engulfed office buildings and port facilities, as well as onlookers who had gathered to watch the firefighters at work. But there was no update on their situation Friday. The People’s Daily newspaper said three firefighters have been confirmed dead and several fire engines were destroyed.

A team of 217 chemical experts were deployed to the scene late Thursday, Xinhua reported.

Meanwhile, 721 others were hospitalised, including 25 critically injured and 33 in serious condition, the rescue headquarters said.

Tianjin has a population of 15 million. Estimates say that one auto company lost around 1,000 cars and two others lost more than 4,000 combined.

Speaking in English, the man and woman behind the camera suggest that the fire “might be at a gas station” before the explosions start.