The blasts on Wednesday night originated at a warehouse for hazardous material, where 700 tons of sodium cyanide – a toxic chemical that can form combustible substances on contact with water – were being stored in amounts that violated safety rules.
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Ships carrying oil and “hazardous products” were barred from the port on Thursday, the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration said on its official microblog.
But Premier Li Keqiang – visiting the city to meet victims and direct rescue efforts, a common move after major Chinese disasters – told Hong Kong’s i-Cable TV: “We must investigate the accident, find the cause of the blasts and anyone who acted illegally will be severely punished”. More than 4,000 medical staff are treating the injured and 77 people have been discharged from hospitals.
Explosions and a fireball at a chemical warehouse killed at least 85 people in the north-eastern Chinese port city of Tianjin late on 12 August. The explosions have affected 17,000 households and some 1,700 businesses. The public has raised concerns over whether the hazardous material was properly taken into account in the way the firefighters responded.
Other state publications like the People’s Daily have either attacked the local government of Tianjin, claiming officials have done little to quell the rumors the federal government is trying desperately to suppress. Its coverage of the Beijing communist government generally has been limited to stories like “Puppy saved from Tianjin explosion site”.
Furious residents and victims’ relatives railed against authorities outside a news conference on Saturday for keeping them in the dark as criticism over transparency mounted. “I recall nothing after that”, he said.
“It was complete darkness [and] my buddies were badly injured”, said one firefighter who managed to escape, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. “We’ve been told nothing”.
Tianjin’s bureau of environmental protection has assured that rain forecast during the day would not pose a threat to people’s health, underlining that if deemed necessary, an evacuation would be ordered.
Tianjin officials have been hard-pressed to answer how the warehouse was allowed to operate in its location. The images showed people whose faces were cut, or who wore bandages on their heads and arms.
Deputy national fire chief Niu Hueguang revealed that more than 40 toxic chemicals were being stored at the warehouse with a total volume of about 3,000 tons, as reported on the official website of the China Fire Services. “These levels are actually very low”, he said.
“Cyanide is only harmful when people have direct and long-term contact with it”, Bao said.
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Officials have said there have been no substantial leaks of the toxic sodium cyanide. Industrial accidents are not uncommon in China after three decades of fast economic growth.
