Aftermath Of The Horrific #Tianjin Explosions - 42 Breathtaking Images

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On Wednesday 12 August 2015, at least two explosions occurred within 30 seconds of each other at a container storage station at the Port of Tianjin in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China.

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Over one hundred people were killed and hundreds more injured. The cause of the explosions was not immediately known, but initial reports pointed to an industrial accident.

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Fire caused by the initial explosions continued to burn out of control through the end of the week, repeatedly causing secondary explosions.

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Chinese state media reported that at least the initial blast was from unknown hazardous materials in shipping containers at a plant warehouse owned by Ruihai Logistics, a firm specializing in handling hazardous materials.

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The first reports of a fire began coming in at around 22:50 local time (14:50 UTC) at a warehouse in the Binhai New Area.

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At around 23:30 (15:30 UTC), the first explosion occurred that registered as a magnitude 2.3 earthquake. Initial reports estimate that the first explosion was equivalent to 3 tonnes of TNT. Shortly after this initial explosion, a second more powerful one occurred which caused most of the damage and injuries with shock-waves being felt many kilometers away. The second explosion has been estimated to be equivalent to 21 tonnes of TNT. The resulting fireballs reached hundreds of meters high.

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Around 11:40 (03:40 UTC) on 15 August, a series of eight explosions occurred in the port as the fire from the original blasts continued to spread.

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Several communities amounting to up to 5,600 people are known to exist within a kilometer of the plant, the closest one being only 600 meters away. According to the Tianjin government, more than 700 people were injured by the explosion, many with extensive injuries, mostly from burns and explosive blast injuries.

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Photographs and videos showed extensive destruction in the area around the warehouse. The explosions were photographed from space by the Japanese satellite Himawari. The buildings of seven logistics companies were destroyed, along with more than eight thousand new cars in a nearby parking lot. Apartment blocks 2 km (1.2 mi) from the site sustained shattered glass, the loss of roof tiles and damage to ceilings.

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There were at least 700 tonnes of highly toxic sodium cyanide stored at the site, and leakage has been found in the sewer. On 13 August, officials stated that they had detected the toxic gases sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides within 500 m (1,600 ft) of the origin of the explosion, but the levels conformed with national standards. The gases were undetected 2 km (1.2 mi) from the fire.

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On 15 August, local authorities ordered the evacuation of residents within a 3 km (1.9 mi) radius of the blast site, prompted by the threat of "toxic substances", including sodium cyanide.

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