More blasts rock Tianjin as death toll from Chinese disaster climbs to 104

TIANJIN, China // More explosions and fires rocked the Chinese port city of Tianjin on Saturday, as another survivor was recovered and authorities ordered evacuations to clean up chemical contamination more than two days after a fire and a series of blasts set off the disaster.

Meanwhile, angry relatives of firefighters missing in the catastrophe stormed a government announcement to demand information on their loved ones.

The death toll in Wednesday’s inferno and blasts that devastated industrial and residential zones climbed to 104, the Xinhua state news agency said late on Saturday. Authorities earlier said that 21 firefighters were among the dead, making the disaster the deadliest for Chinese firefighters in more than six decades.

An unknown number of firefighters remain missing, and 722 people have been hospitalised following the rapid succession of explosions that began with a fire from shipping containers containing hazardous material at a warehouse. Fifty-eight people are in a critical or serious condition, according to rescue headquarters.

Authorities on Saturday pulled one survivor from a shipping container, state media reported. His identity was not immediately known.

The government set up a no-go area within 3 kilometres of the explosions to clean up chemical contamination from sodium cyanide, according to media reports. Sodium cyanide is a toxic chemical that becomes combustible on contact with water or damp air.

Flames could be seen on Saturday, while explosions were reported by witnesses and state media. In one case, heavy smoke from a fire engulfing several cars rose as high as 10 metres, accompanied by at least five explosions.

Police and military personnel manned checkpoints on roads leading to the blast sites, and helicopters in the overcast sky.

The air had a metallic chemical smell and there was uneasiness over rain forecasts,

although it was warm and windy.

Meanwhile, family members of missing firefighters disrupted the latest news conference, demanding to know the fate of their loved ones.

“[The authorities] didn’t notify us at all,” said Liu Huan, whose son Liu Chuntao has been missing since late on Wednesday. “Our son is a firefighter, and there was a team of firefighters who lost contact. We couldn’t contact him.”

Liu Longwang said she had not heard any word of her son Liu Ziqiao, also a firefighter. “We are extremely worried,” she said. “He’s just turned 18.”

State media reported that the casualties of the first three squads of firefighters to respond and of a neighbourhood police station have not yet been determined, suggesting that the death toll could go up.

Tianjin fire chief Zhou Tian said on Friday that the explosions occurred just as reinforcements had arrived on the scene and were getting to work.

One bright moment, however, came on Friday morning, when Zhou Ti, a 19-year-old fireman, was pulled from the zone and taken to a hospital.

Li Yonghan, a doctor at Teda Hospital, called Mr Zhou’s survival “miraculous” and said he escaped death mainly because he was covered by his fallen comrades. Mr Zhou had massive injuries, including burns and leg cuts.

“It was just a sea of fire,” Mr Lin said. “We were really worried that there would be a second or third explosion.”

* Associated Press, Agence France-Presse