112 dead, 95 missing in Tianjin blasts Smoke billows from the site of an explosion that reduced a parking lot filled with new cars to charred remains at a warehouse in north-eastern China's Tianjin Municipality. Huge explosions in the warehouse district sent up massive fireballs that turned the night sky into day in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, officials and witnesses said. — Agencies
Smoke billows from the site of an explosion that reduced a parking lot filled with new cars to charred remains at a warehouse in north-eastern China's Tianjin Municipality. Huge explosions in the warehouse district sent up massive fireballs that turned the night sky into day in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, officials and witnesses said. — Agencies

Smoke billows from the site of an explosion that reduced a parking lot filled with new cars to charred remains at a warehouse in north-eastern China’s Tianjin Municipality. Huge explosions in the warehouse district sent up massive fireballs that turned the night sky into day in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, officials and witnesses said. — Agencies

TIANJIN. — A total of 112 bodies have been found, and 95 people remained missing, including 85 fire-fighters, after massive warehouse explosions rocked north China’s Tianjin city last Wednesday night, officials said at a Press conference yesterday. Ten more bodies were found on Saturday night after the announcement of 104 deaths, but four mutilated remains were later confirmed as belonging to two victims, according to Gong Jiansheng, vice head of the city’s publicity department.

Twenty four victims have been identified, Gong said.

The missing fire-fighters included 13 in active service, and 72 working for the Tianjin Port Group Co., he added.

Two huge explosions took place in a warehouse for hazardous chemicals at about 11:30pm Wednesday following a fire.

A total of 722 people remained hospitalised, including 58 in critical or serious conditions, the rescue headquarters said on Saturday night.

Chinese leaders on Saturday urged authorities to learn from the “extremely profound” lessons paid for with blood from the massive warehouse explosions in Tianjin.

In a written instruction, President Xi Jinping said the Tianjin blasts and a string of serious accidents recently exposed severe problems in the work safety sector, and authorities must always keep “safe development” and “people’s interest first” in mind to avoid such accidents.

He demands a better emergency response mechanism, greater implementation of work safety regulations, and careful checks of all possible safety risks, to achieve “substantial improvement” in work safety.

The accountability system must be put into practice earnestly in order to prevent dereliction of duty, he added.

Premier Li Keqiang urged authorities to take forceful and effective measures to rectify the weak link so as to formulate a long-term mechanism to avoid the repetition of accidents.

The State Council on Saturday called a national tele-conference to lay out work on a national safety inspection that will target industries related with dangerous chemicals, explosives, fireworks, elevators, non-coal mines, public transport and ports.

The warehouse was owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd., a storage and distribution centre for containers of dangerous goods.

The State Council Work Safety Commission on Friday said the blasts revealed a lack of safety awareness among businesses, lax implementation of safety regulations, irregular practices among workers and weak emergency responses to incidents. — Xinhua.

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