An explosion has struck a chemical warehouse in China’s northeastern port city of Tianjin, nearly two months after a string of bomb blasts killed scores of people there.
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China’s official state news agency Xinhua reported that the blast occurred at a warehouse storing “alcohol materials” in Beichen District’s Xiditou Township, an area closer to the urban part of Tianjin.
Police said the warehouse, storing alcohol and other chemicals, was unlicensed.
Because of its location, the latest explosion became a trending topic early Tuesday on Sina Weibo – a microblogging service similar to Twitter – with users posting what they said were images of the blast.
An initial investigation showed the company, registered in Tianjin municipality, rented a private 700-square-meter warehouse in the northern suburbs from a local villager, according to the publicity department of Beichen district. The materials are commonly used in the production of plastics and pharmaceuticals. The new blast underlines the challenges that China faces in ensuring workplace safety.
A total of 165 people died as a result of the explosions of August 12 at a hazardous goods storage facility, which devastated a swathe of Tianjin, the authorities say.
It said the incident posed no hazard to people or the environment.
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Almost 100 firefighters were among the dead, in China’s worst industrial accident in more than a decade.
