Vehicles are seen burning after blasts at Binhai New District in Tianjin, China, Aug. 13, 2015. (Photo : REUTERS)
Huge explosions rocked China’s northern port city of Tianjin, leaving at least 44 people dead, including 17 firefighters who responded to the scene.
As of press time, a total of 520 people have been hospitalized, including 66 with critical injuries.
State media said that the first explosions came from the Ruihai warehouse, which stores "dangerous and chemical goods," at 11:20 p.m. Wednesday, following a fire report half an hour earlier.
It was followed seconds later with another, more powerful blast, with shockwaves shattering window glass in buildings several kilometers away.
The China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC) said that the first explosion has the same force as three tons of TNT, while the second was the equivalent of 21 tonnes of the explosive.
Fireballs also erupted and triggered more explosions in nearby buildings, according to rescuers.
"At the time of the explosion the ground was shaking fiercely, nearby cars and buildings were shaking, glass from a few buildings all broke and everyone started to run," a witness, named only as Ms. Yang, told the local media.
Several firefighters were "out of contact" and another four got injured during the rescue, a spokesman from the Tianjin fire brigade said, adding that there were people still trapped inside the blast site and rescue operations are still going on.
The wounded have been sent to several nearby hospitals, including Taida Hospital, which admitted some 150 people injured from the blast.
"The injuries were mostly from broken glass or stones," Lu Yun, head of Taida Hospital, told Xinhua. "Some of the injuries are serious."
As of 3:00 a.m. Thursday, minor fires and explosions could still be seen from a far distance.
As soon as the explosions were under control, several taxi drivers and private car owners were seen voluntarily helping with sending the wounded to hospitals. Some hotels have provided free accommodation to residents displaced by the blast.
Several tower blocks near the port area are also without power, according to CCTV.
Authorities must "convene every resource available and take every measure that can be taken" for the rescue and emergency handling, said Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun, who arrived at the blast site Thursday morning.
President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have also issued statements urging all-out efforts to save the injured and minimize casualties from the blast.
Tianjin, home to approximately 15 million people, is a major port and industrial area to the southeast of the Chinese capital of Beijing.
