Police and military staff are deployed at checkpoints leading to the explosion site, and helicopters are hovering above.
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Three days after vast explosions lit up the night sky and left scenes of utter devastation across an industrial zone in the northern Chinese city – and scores dead – a father said he had yet to hear from his firefighter son.
Burning flames were spotted and explosions were reported by witnesses and state media.
Tianjin work safety official Gao Huaiyou listed a host of possible substances at the briefing, adding that the firm’s recent large exports had included sodium bisulfide, magnesium, sodium, potassium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, and sodium cyanide, among others.
The fire intensified at the hazardous goods storage facility on Saturday and a series of new explosions sent a thick black column of smoke into the air, the official Xinhua news agency said. The air had a metallic chemical smell, and there was uneasiness over rain forecasts, although it was warm and windy. “He’s just turned 18”. According to state media more than 50 people died, and the death toll may climb.
‘There was no chance to escape, and that’s why the casualties were so severe, ‘ he said.
“Nobody has told us anything, we’re in the dark, there is no news at all”, one middle-aged woman screamed tearfully, as she was dragged away by security personnel.
Many people cut by the showers of glass went to the Taida Medical Center, the hospital closest to the site and the one to which most of the injured have been taken.
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Evergreen said that since the authorities of the Tianjin port have resumed terminal operations from 1 p.m. Friday to allow cargo loading and unloading, Kingtrans has reached a consensus with its counterparts in the port area to assist the company in its logistics operations in a bid to fulfill its obligations to its customers. “We were really anxious that there would be a second or third explosion and what we would do then”. Hazardous materials remain on the site, and more than 200 nuclear and biochemical experts are reportedly assessing the public health and environmental risks.
