THE death toll from massive warehouse blasts in the northern Chinese port of Tianjin rose to 50 as of Thursday evening, including 12 firefighters, while emergency teams were continuing to battle flames.

    A total of 521 people have been hospitalized, including 71 critically injured, according to the rescue headquarters.

    The Tianjin fire brigade sent 1,000 firefighters and 151 fire engines to the warehouses, which contained dangerous goods. The volatility of the goods has made the fire unpredictable and dangerous to approach. Firefighters said the road leading to the blaze remained blocked, limiting their efforts to spray dry powder and foam from a distance.

    Xinhua reporters saw at least 200 armed police officers around the warehouse.

    About 1,000 medical workers from 10 hospitals were treating the wounded across the city.

    Lu Yun, head of Teda Hospital, which admitted about 150 injured people, told Xinhua that most of the injuries were from broken glass or stones.

    Schools and other sites near the warehouses opened Thursday to help the injured. An aquarium further away also offered its service center, washrooms and parking lot to the public around the clock through the end of this week for aid distribution and blood donation.

    A total of 3,500 people have been relocated to 10 nearby schools, Zhang Yong, head of the Binhai New Area Government said at a press conference. The number would reach 6,000 by Thursday night, Zhang said.

    Volunteers have arrived at hospitals for blood donation, and taxi drivers and private car owners offered help to transport the wounded to hospitals.

    Tianjin is a key port and petrochemical processing hub about 120 km east of Beijing.

    There is no indication of what caused the blasts.

    State media said senior management of the company had been detained and that President Xi Jinping demanded severe punishment for anyone found responsible for the explosions.

    Authorities said the blasts started at shipping containers at the warehouse owned by Ruihai Logistics, a company that stores hazardous materials including flammable petrochemicals, sodium cyanide and toluene diisocyanate.

    The initial blast apparently triggered an even bigger one. The national earthquake bureau said the first blast was the equivalent of 3 tons of TNT, and the second 21 tons. The enormous fireballs from the blasts rolled through a nearby parking lot, turning a fleet of 1,000 new cars into scorched metal husks.

    (Xinhua)

    (Special report on P4)

    THE death toll from massive warehouse blasts in the northern Chinese port of Tianjin rose to 50 as of Thursday evening, including 12 firefighters, while emergency teams were continuing to battle flames.

    A total of 521 people have been hospitalized, including 71 critically injured, according to the rescue headquarters.

    The Tianjin fire brigade sent 1,000 firefighters and 151 fire engines to the warehouses, which contained dangerous goods. The volatility of the goods has made the fire unpredictable and dangerous to approach. Firefighters said the road leading to the blaze remained blocked, limiting their efforts to spray dry powder and foam from a distance.

    Xinhua reporters saw at least 200 armed police officers around the warehouse.

    About 1,000 medical workers from 10 hospitals were treating the wounded across the city.

    Lu Yun, head of Teda Hospital, which admitted about 150 injured people, told Xinhua that most of the injuries were from broken glass or stones.

    Schools and other sites near the warehouses opened Thursday to help the injured. An aquarium further away also offered its service center, washrooms and parking lot to the public around the clock through the end of this week for aid distribution and blood donation.

    A total of 3,500 people have been relocated to 10 nearby schools, Zhang Yong, head of the Binhai New Area Government said at a press conference. The number would reach 6,000 by Thursday night, Zhang said.

    Volunteers have arrived at hospitals for blood donation, and taxi drivers and private car owners offered help to transport the wounded to hospitals.

    Tianjin is a key port and petrochemical processing hub about 120 km east of Beijing.

    There is no indication of what caused the blasts.

    State media said senior management of the company had been detained and that President Xi Jinping demanded severe punishment for anyone found responsible for the explosions.

    Authorities said the blasts started at shipping containers at the warehouse owned by Ruihai Logistics, a company that stores hazardous materials including flammable petrochemicals, sodium cyanide and toluene diisocyanate.

    The initial blast apparently triggered an even bigger one. The national earthquake bureau said the first blast was the equivalent of 3 tons of TNT, and the second 21 tons. The enormous fireballs from the blasts rolled through a nearby parking lot, turning a fleet of 1,000 new cars into scorched metal husks.

    (Xinhua)

    (Special report on P4)