Explosions in China leave at least 17 dead

Associated Press

TIANJIN, CHINA

Huge explosions in a warehouse district sent up massive fireballs that turned the night sky into day, killing at least 17 people and injuring hundreds in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, officials and witnesses said Thursday.

China’s state broadcaster, CCTV, said that at least 17 people were killed in the explosions late Wednesday and that 32 were in critical condition in the hospital. Hundreds of others were taken to the hospital.

The blasts, originating at a warehouse for hazardous material, knocked doors off buildings in the area and shattered windows up to several miles away.

“I thought it was an earthquake, so I rushed downstairs without my shoes on,” Tianjin resident Zhang Siyu, whose home is several kilometers from the blast site, said in a telephone interview. “Only once I was outside did I realize it was an explosion. There was the huge fireball in the sky with thick clouds. Everybody could see it.”

Zhang said she could see wounded people weeping. She said she did not see anyone who had been killed, but “I could feel death.”

There was no indication of what caused the blasts, and no immediate sign of any large release of toxic chemicals into the air.

The Beijing News newspaper reported on its website that there was some unidentified yellow foam flowing at the site.

Police in Tianjin said an initial blast took place at shipping containers in a warehouse for hazardous materials owned by Ruihai Logistics, a company that says it is properly approved to handle such materials.

State media said senior management of the company had been detained by authorities, and that President Xi Jinping has demanded severe punishment for anyone found responsible for the explosions.

The official Xinhua News agency said an initial explosion triggered other blasts at nearby businesses.

The National Earthquake Bureau reported two major blasts before midnight, the first with an equivalent of 3 tons of TNT, and the second with the equivalent of 21 tons.