Chinese authorities have ordered the evacuation of a three-kilometer wide area around the Tianjin blast area due to growing fears of chemical contamination.
The death toll of last Wednesday’s disaster has now risen to 85, including 21 firefighters. A total of 720 people were hurt during the chain of explosions that rocked the port city of Tianjin earlier in the week.
A fire that started inside a warehouse became the catalyst for the disaster. It is believed the warehouse was packed with containers full of hazardous chemicals, including the deadly sodium cyanide. The fire initiated a chain reaction that caused a series of explosions, with some of the blast occurring just as firefighters began arriving at the site.
Local authorities have now come under fire over the storing of the dangerous materials so close to residential areas and public infrastucture.
According to regulations, hazardous chemical warehouses must be sited at least 1,000 metres from public buildings, highways, railways and industrial enterprises. However, the site in Tianjin was located less than 500 metres from the S11 Haibin Expressway, and within 500 metres of a 104,438-square metre apartment complex built by China Vanke, one of China’s largest developers.