Blast in Chinese port equal to 21 tons of TNT
TIANJIN, China — Rescuers pulled out a firefighter who was trapped for 32 hours after responding to a fire and huge explosions in the Chinese port city of Tianjin as authorities dealt today with a fire still smoldering amid potentially dangerous chemicals.
A rapid succession of explosions late Wednesday — one equal to 21 tons of TNT — killed at least 56 people, injured more than 720 and left several firefighters missing.
They were sparked by a fire at what authorities said were shipping containers containing hazardous material at a warehouse, and they struck a mostly industrial zone late at night — otherwise the death toll could have been much higher. But the warehouse was close enough to residences to appear out of compliance with safety regulations, raising questions about whether the facility had properly been authorized.
The toll included at least 21 firefighters among the more than 1,000 sent to the disaster. Firefighters initially responded to a fire at the warehouse and many of them apparently were killed by a series of explosions triggered 40 minutes after the fire was reported.
“Reinforcements had just arrived on the scene and were just getting to work when the explosions occurred and therefore there was no chance to escape, and that’s why the casualties were so severe,” Tianjin Fire Department head Zhou Tian said at a news conference today. “We’re now doing all we can to rescue the missing.”
One firefighter was pulled from the zone at about dawn today and taken to a hospital, where he was being treated for face, chest and foot injuries.
It was a bright moment in a day otherwise clouded by mistrust and unanswered questions. Local officials have been hard-pressed to explain why authorities permitted hazardous goods warehouses so close to residential complexes and critical infrastructure. They also have been publicly reticent about suspicions that firefighters may have sparked the explosions by spraying water on volatile chemicals.
Hazardous chemical warehouses must be at least 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) away from public buildings, highways, railways and industrial enterprises under regulations enacted by China’s State Administration of Work Safety in 2001.
But Google Earth shows that Ruihai’s two hazmat warehouses are less than 500 meters from the S11 Haibin Expressway, and within 500 meters of a 104,438-square meter apartment complex built by China Vanke Co., one of China’s largest developers.
Vanke said it acquired the land before Ruihai Logistics began loading toxic substances in its warehouses one block away. “The land was near normal logistics warehouses when we acquired it in April 2010,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. “We were not aware they were later transformed into warehouses for hazardous material.”
The housing development’s windows were shattered and the side facing the explosions singed. The entire complex was evacuated Officials have publicly reassured a skeptical public that the blasts have not contaminated the air, but many residents weren’t taking chances and could be seen today wearing air-filtering masks.
