CHINA-BLAST/NEWSER UPDATE Many firefighters among 56 dead in Tianjin explosions

Record ID: 143932

  • Title: CHINA-BLAST/NEWSER UPDATE Many firefighters among 56 dead in Tianjin explosions
  • Date: 14th August 2015
  • Summary: TIANJIN, CHINA (AUGUST 14, 2015) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** OFFICIALS SITTING DOWN FOR NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) DEPUTY HEAD OF THE TIANJIN PUBLICITY DEPARTMENT, GONG JIANSHENG, SAYING: "56 people have died, of which 21 were fire fighters, the total number in hospital is 721, of which 25 are in a critica
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA67TIHW1VGNQWRHWLFPIX6PSZS
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The death toll in the Tianjin port explosions rose to 56 on Friday (August 14), officials said, as 721 victims of the two blasts remained in hospital.
    Gong Jiansheng, the deputy head of Tianjin's publicity bureau gave the latest figures out at a news conference.
    "56 people have died, of which 21 were fire fighters, the total number in hospital is 721, of which 25 are in a critical condition and 33 are seriously injured," he said.
    Thousands of residents face another night sleeping in tents and school buildings, as a huge clean up operation is ongoing in the many housing complexes located just a few kilometres from the blast.
    Zhang Ruigang, who heads the Binhai Municipal affairs office said over 6,000 residents had to be relocated.
    "At present more than 6300 residents have been relocated. At the same time we have been dispensing drinking water, food, and necessities such as clothes and bedding etc. At every temporary residence we have set up temporary medical services," he said.
    Investigators continued to search for clues on Friday to identify what caused the two huge explosions at a warehouse used to store toxic chemicals and gas at a busy port in northeast China, as foreign and local companies assessed the damage to their operations.
    The explosions at the port were so big they were seen by satellites in space and registered on earthquake sensors.
    The warehouse was designed to store dangerous and toxic chemicals, according to an assessment by environmental inspectors published in 2014. It was storing mainly ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and calcium carbide at the time of the blasts, according to the police.
    A team from the Beijing Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) under the China Meteorological Administration, as well as 214 Chinese military nuclear and biochemical materials specialists, had gone to Tianjin, the official Xinhua news agency said.
    Columns of smoke from fires still burning on Friday rose from the blast site amid the devastation of crumpled shipping containers, thousands of torched cars and port buildings reduced to burnt-out shells.
    The blasts shattered windows in buildings and cars and knocked down walls in a 2-km radius around the site.
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