CCTV, the state-run broadcaster, said that another 248 people had been admitted to hospitals in the city, east of Beijing.
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The initial explosion erupted at a warehouse for a logistics company in an industrial area of the port city, according to Tianjin police. Established in 2011, Ruihai Logistics handles the transit and distribution of hazardous goods.
Citing a local hospital, Xinhua said people had been hurt by broken glass and stones and some were seriously wounded.
The TV report said the fire still yet to be contained as firefighters cannot use water to put it out due to presence of chemicals and instead has to use sand and other materials to contain it.
UPDATE 1:53 pm: State newspaper People’s Daily China reports the explosion was caused by “explosive material in container at terminal in Binhai District”. “I’ve never even thought I’d see such a thing”. The National quake Bureau reported two major blasts before midnight, the first with an equivalent of 3 tons of TNT, and the second with the equivalent of 21 tons.
State broadcaster CCTV said 17 people were killed and more than 400 hospitalised, adding in a Twitter post that President Xi Jinping had urged “all-out efforts to rescue victims and extinguish the fire”.
In July, 15 people were killed and more than a dozen injured when an illegal fireworks warehouse exploded in the northern Hebei province. The explosion also shattered glass windows. The explosion happened after they arrived and damaged buildings and infrastructure.
China has a dismal industrial safety record as owners routinely cut costs by evading regulations and bribe corrupt officials to flout safety regulations.
Tianjin is a major port city in the north-east of China, about 145 kilometres from the capital city Beijing.
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Like Shanghai, several countries were granted trading “concessions” there during the 19th and early 20th centuries – settlements which were administered by a foreign power – starting with Britain and France in 1860.
