At least 50 deaths have now been confirmed following yesterday’s explosions in Tianjin. At least 700 people are injured in the series of massive explosions that occurred in a warehouse. More than 70 people were “critically injured” according to state media, Xinhua.
According to Chine Central Television, the state broadcaster, the explosions occurred when a shipment of explosives in a warehouse storing toxic chemicals blew up. This is reported to have happened at 11:30pm local time (5:30pm Irish time). The blasts destroyed tower blocks and burned out thousands of cars.
The explosions were so massive they were picked up from space by the Japanese meteorological agency. Hospitals and health workers are finding it difficult to keep keep up with the numbers flooding through their doors.
12 firefighters lost their lives to the blaze and another 36 are since missing. They were among more than 1,000 firefighters sent to battle the flames. Four vehicles carrying 214 soldiers trained to deal with nuclear, biological and chemical catastrophes were dispatched to Tianjin, which is around 100 miles from Beijing.