Posted on 08/14/2015 10:58:06 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Tianjin blasts: police order mass evacuations amid further explosions
Everyone within three kilometres of blast site in China urged to get out as death toll rises to 85 and firefighters battle blazes for a third day
Fergus Ryan in Tianjin
Saturday 15 August 2015 06.29 BST
Armed police are evacuating everyone within 3km of the Tianjin blast site as seven to eight explosions raised fears of yet more casualties on Saturday, Beijing News has reported.
Hundreds of evacuees housed at a temporary shelter in a nearby primary school for the homeless were also being moved away, Beijing News reported.
Fires broke out at 11.40am on Saturday at the Tianjin blast site according to state media outlet Xinhua. Thick smoke and seven to eight blasts from at least three separate locations were reported to have been heard at the scene.
At 11am police saying they were acting on “orders from higher authorities” began instructing people within 2km of the epicentre to be promptly evacuated, said the Beijing News. “No people or vehicle allowed within the area” the police officer reportedly said.
According to the same report, a member of the People’s Armed Police told the Beijing News reporter that sodium cyanide had been discovered in the warehouse contents. Experts are now handling the chemical while the evacuation continues.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
P!
Just what the heck were they doing there ?
What a series of events. Firemen put water on a small fire, which then reacts with calcium carbide to make acetylene, which explodes, setting off ammonium nitrate which then scatters cyanide.
More like “A series of unfortunate events.”
I’m guessing that they may not have the strict rules and regulations that we have in the U.S. that may limit some of this. The trouble with regulations (like OSHA), they are meant so that you don’t store this stuff in close proximity, have a plan and the firefighters know it, etc. But then it morphs into having warning labels on Wite-Out.
They have no concept of residential zoning either.
Warehouse in China Blasts Was Closer to Homes Than Allowed
http://www.wsj.com/articles/warehouse-in-china-blasts-was-closer-to-homes-than-allowed-1439570892
Some hazardous chemicals were reportedly stored close to residential area, which is in violation of their regulation.
Other report says that the warehouses closer to the area were originally not approved for the storage of such chemicals. Somebody played fast and loose with the regulation. They cut the corner and stored the chemicals where they are not supposed to be.
In one of the videos it looked like houses (peaked roof, windows, etc.) on fire rather than a warehouse. Hard to tell, but from what you say it probably was homes.
I’m no big fan of commie China, but hate to see such suffering from blameless civilians. Pretty messed up stuff.
In 1947, the Port of Texas City lost all but one of its firefighters when a ship's cargo of 2300 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated with an explosive yield estimated between 2.7 and 3.2 kt. The fire got going around 8 am, but the ammonium nitrate didn't go up until 9:12, thus allowing the firefighters plenty of time to get too close.
Yep.
Somebody's gonna get executed.
Reminds me of this History Channel show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V-1BL1Tr90.
What a clusterschtumpf.
““orders from higher authorities”
Dang, they have them there too?
My God -- you've just given an EXACT description of Obama's Middle East foreign policy!!
ROFLMFO -- "face" not "ass" -- otherwise the acronym reads "MAO". Not for the poor Chinese (which is why I modified the acronym), but entirely at Obama, who deserves nothing but obliquy, scorn, and contempt.
Just the ultimate result of Ayn Randian business practices. The libertarians would love to be able to operate like the Chinese.
Or not
More:
There were about seven small explosions in the area on Saturday, according to a post on the micro-blog of CCTV. A fresh blaze ignited cars in a parking lot next to the blast site. The cause was not immediately clear. State media carried reports of other fires in the area.
Also, mention is made of rescued firefighter. Here is footage specifically of that claim...
Seems unlikely given the blasted remains surrounding the surviving fire fighter in that imagery. The shoe-less nearly naked survivor is lying betwixt smouldering scorched metal sheets with barely a scratch or visible burn on him. Perhaps he was knocked silly, stripped from his gear and wandered around until he collapsed.
*****
FWIW:
*****
""...state media have reported. Several others are still missing. The blast occurred at a port warehouse owned by the 4-year-old Tianjin Ruihai International Logistics company. State-run media said that the facility held "dangerous materials," possibly including the chemical calcium carbide, which reacts violently to water.Yet when firefighters were called to the warehouse at 10:50 on Wednesday night, they attempted to douse a fire there with water cannons, according to several reports in Chinese media. Minutes later, two blasts lighted up the sky that together had the force of 53 Tomahawk cruise missiles exploding, state-run media reported.
Beijing has dispatched 200 hazardous-chemical specialists -- many of them in full protective suits and gas masks -- to investigate the cause of the blast.
One firefighter told the liberal newspaper Southern Weekend that his brigade was never warned against the use of water.
Propaganda authorities required local media outlets to use "only copy from Xinhua [news service] and authoritative departments and media," according to a censorship directive leaked to the news website China Digital Times. Officials said at a news conference Friday that even the names of the chemicals in the warehouse "cannot be determined at the moment," contradicting previous reports.
The Southern Weekend report has been taken offline."
"More exploding Hyundias? Hope mine doesn't." -McGruff
"Hyundai is Korean." - shibumi
"Huge explosions at a warehouse in Tianjin, China, have destroyed cars worth about 160 billion won ($136 million) from Hyundai Motor, Korea's top car maker, according to sources, Friday."About 4,000 Hyundai Motor-branded cars were at the site," an industry official said.
"They were all luxury models such as Genesis sedans. Assuming that all stacked cars were burnt, total losses will go up to 160 billion won."
**** ShanghaiDaily: FLASH: DEATH TOLL RISES TO 104 FROM TIANJIN BLASTS
Sodium cyanide "possibly stored" at Tianjin blast site
TIANJIN, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Investigators looking into Wednesday's explosion in Tianjin believe sodium cyanide may have been stored at the site.
At a press conference Saturday morning, Gao Huaiyou, vice head of the Tianjin bureau of work safety, said that chemicals stored in the warehouse possibly include sodium cyanide, but further confirmation is needed. The containers were not open, and some were not even registered. Full story
Tianjin blasted warehouse on fire again
TIANJIN, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The warehouse in Tianjin, which was destroyed by an explosion on Wednesday night, was on fire again Saturday morning.
Flames were seen at 11:40 a.m., and Xinhua reporters heard several blasts. Dense smoke could be seen at the site.Full story
Death toll rises to 85, residents evacuated from Tianjin blasts
TIANJIN, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Death toll rose to 85 as of Friday night, including 21 firemen, from the massive warehouse explosions hitting north China's Tianjin City Wednesday night, the rescue headquarters said Saturday.
Meanwhile, 721 others were hospitalized, including 25 critically wounded and 33 in serious condition. Full story
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