Fires were still smouldering almost 22 hours after the blasts while chemical experts assess The hazardous materials on site. The cause of the blasts is still not known. The warehouse is Reported to have contained large quantities of the highly toxic chemical sodium cyanide. A team of 217 military toxic waste specialists have arrived in Tianjin.
‘Lessons paid for with blood’
Blast so big ‘it could be seen from space’
The explosion was reportedly so big it could be seen from space.
Another witness, Guan Xiang, who lives 4 miles from the explosion site, said: “I was sleeping when our windows and doors suddenly shook as we heard explosions outside.
“I first thought it was an earthquake.”
The apartment complex closest to the explosion has eight rows of high-rise tower blocks.
In every one of them, almost every window has been blown out. On the ground outside are the signs of the many families who have fled from their beds in a hurry – a woman’s shoe, children’s toys, mangled bicycles.
There would have been many injured here. Inside the homes, furniture has been picked up as if by a whirlwind and interior doors lie at angles, ripped off their hinges.
Relatives of some of the 95 people missing, mainly firefighters, stormed an official news conference demanding to know the whereabouts of their loved ones. Families wrote the names of missing people on posters lining a street outside a temporary shelter near the rescue site.
The blast in Tianjin, China, Was so powerful it sent a Giant mushroom cloud into The sky and could be seen From space.
An eye witness has described the moment the blast took place, the BBC reports.
Ms Yang told local media she was out shopping when “suddenly from behind there was a big fireball and explosion”.
“At the time of the explosion the ground was shaking fiercely, nearby cars and buildings were shaking, a few buildings’ glass all broke and everyone started to run,” she said.
“Now all the residents are gathered in the street.”
Sodium cyanide is a toxic chemical that can form a flammable gas upon contact with water, and several hundred tons would be a clear violation of rules cited by state media that the warehouse could store no more than 10 tons at a time, the Associated Press reported.
Man screams ‘Oh my God’ after capturing moment blasts devastate factory
Angry relatives of the missing firefighters stormed a government news conference Saturday To demand information. At least 21 firefighters are among the dead, making it the deadliest Incident for Chinese firefighters in more than 60 years, the AP said.
Questions have arisen about whether hazardous chemicals were being stored too close to Residential areas, whether firefighters were put into harm’s way in the initial response, and Whether the chemicals were properly taken into account, according to the news agency.
