MASSIVE EXPLOSION: Blast at Chinese port kills more than a dozen

The death toll from Wednesday’s massive explosion in the Chinese city of Tianjin continues to rise, with at least 44 people dead and 520 others hospitalized, of which 66 are in critical condition, China’s Xinhua news agency reported Thursday afternoon.

The blasts, originating at a warehouse for hazardous material, turned buildings in the immediate vicinity into charred, skeletal shells while shattering windows up to several kilometers (miles) away.

REUTERS/StringerVehicles are seen burning after blasts at Binhai new district in Tianjin municipality, China, August 13, 2015.The morning after two massive explosions rocked China’s northeast port city of Tianjin, the magnitude of the damage has become clear.

Nine more fire crews were sent as reinforcements after the explosion.

Tianjin resident Zhang Siyu, who lives several kilometres from the site of the blast, said: “I thought it was an natural disaster, so I rushed downstairs without my shoes on”.

The blast is said to have occurred at a warehouse of Ruihai Logistics, an appointed company of Tianjin Maritime Authority. Huge fireballs rose in the sky and residents fled in panic.

Windows were blown out of high-rise apartments and office buildings destroyed.

At the nearby Taida Hospital as dawn broke, military medical tents were set up.

A firefighter told Xinhua that a dozen fire engines have driven into the site, and more firemen will enter to put out the flames and make way for search and rescue efforts. It says it handles one million tonnes of cargo annually.

Port city explosions have the potential to inflict enormous devastation on nearby populations – the Halifax explosion of 1917 killed 2000 and injured an estimated 9000 people, while the Texas City disaster in 1947 killed 581 and injured roughly 5000.

A manufacturing centre and major port for northern China, it is closely linked to Beijing, with a high-speed train line cutting the travel time between them to only 30 minutes.