Massive explosions ripped through a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals in north China’s major port city of Tianjin, killing at least 50 people and leaving over 700 others injured as the blasts unleashed fireballs strong enough to light up the night sky and rain down debris.
In one of China’s worst industrial disasters, the twin blasts occurred at the Ruihai warehouse at 11.20 pm local time on Wednesday, following a fire report half an hour earlier.
Fireballs erupted then ignited more explosions in companies nearby, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Over 10,000 people have been reportedly evacuated from the nearby areas. Authorities said fires were now “under initial control” but hundreds of personnel continued to battle blazes by spraying dry powder and burying areas in sand.
State-run CCTV said firefighters could not use water to put it out due to presence of chemicals and instead has to use sand and other materials to contain it.