A PSA spokesperson said: “Operations at PSA’s joint venture container terminals in Tianjin were not affected by the earlier explosions in the port area”.
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China’s official Xinhua news agency reports on Twitter that there are “hundreds hospitalized”. State media also said senior managers of Ruihai Logistics, which owned the warehouse where the explosion took place, were being questioned by authorities.
Video of a massive explosion against the backdrop of a city skyline flooded social media, and photos online showed injured people fleeing the scene.
Paramedics stretchered the wounded into the city’s hospitals as doctors bandaged up victims, many of them covered in blood after the impact of the explosion was felt for miles and was even being picked up by a Japanese weather satellite.
The force of the initial blast equalled that of 3 tons of TNT; the second explosion was seven times stronger, the equivalent of 21 tons of explosives, according to China’s National quake Bureau.
According to the company’s website, the facility covers about half a million square feet and includes several hazardous and risky goods warehouses.
In other amateur video which appears to be shot closer to the scene, people scream from inside a vehicle as the shockwave hits from the second blast, rocking their vehicle.
One witness named only as Ms Yang said she was out shopping when there was “suddenly from behind a big fireball and explosion”.
Twelve firefighters were among the dead, Xinhua reported Thursday.
In July, 15 people were killed and more than a dozen injured when an illegal fireworks warehouse exploded in northern Hebei province.
The Shanghai-listed port said its operations were back to normal and evaluation of damages caused by the accident is under way.
Meanwhile Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded severe punishment for anyone found responsible for the blasts.
China Central Television (CCTV) said at least 17 people were killed, including nine firefighters, although casualty numbers were confused among state media outlets.
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China is often criticised for its poor industrial safety record.
