Death toll from China blasts in chemical factory rises to 104, Xi urges changes

August 2015 – TIANJIN, China – The death toll from two massive explosions that tore through an industrial area in the northeastern Chinese port of Tianjin has risen to 104, state media said on Saturday, as China’s president urged improvements in workplace safety. Chinese President Xi Jinping said authorities should learn the lessons paid for with blood in Wednesday warehouse blasts, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The number of people killed had previously been put at 85. China evacuated residents who had taken refuge in a school near the site of two huge explosions, state media said, after a change in wind direction on Saturday prompted fears that toxic chemical particles could be blown inland. It was not clear from media reports how many people were evacuated.

The evacuation order came as a fire broke out again at the site of Wednesday’s blasts, a warehouse specially designed to store dangerous chemicals, according to Xinhua. Evacuees were advised to wear long trousers and face masks as they “evacuated in an orderly fashion,” according to a post on the official microblog of the Tianjin branch of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China. The streets appeared calm. But not all was clear amid emotional scenes as families of missing fire fighters sought answers about their loved ones and officials tried to keep media cameras away. Gong Jiansheng, a district official, told reporters there had been no evacuation.

In one piece of encouraging news, a 50-year-old man was rescued 50 meters away from the blast zone, Xinhua said. The man was suffering from a burnt respiratory tract but was in a stable condition after surviving three days in a shipping container, the official China Central Television (CCTV) and Xinhua said. Chinese police confirmed for the first time the presence of deadly sodium cyanide at the site of the blast as a series of new, small explosions were heard and small fires broke out. Police confirmed the presence of the chemical, fatal when ingested or inhaled, “roughly east of the blast site,” the state-run Beijing News said. It did not say how much had been found or how great a risk it posed but residents expressed concern about the air and water. An area three km (two miles) from the blast site was cordoned off, the Beijing News said. “I do feel a bit afraid,” said construction worker Li Shulan, 49, when asked about the air quality. “It definitely doesn’t feel good. As you can see our boss is making us wear masks.” –Reuters