Chinese City Tianjin Port Explosion

[Badnik Mechanic]

OP Note: I have not posted pics of the injured unless they're from news footage/being interviewed, please do the same and don't post pics of people injured who clearly have not given consent to having their picture taken.

So if you've had the news on, odds are you've heard about what happened in the Chinese city of Tianjin a few hours ago. A fire broke out at the city port, shortly after emergency services attended, this happened...

According to media, the fire spread to a nearby warehouse which had explosives in it, the explosives detonated causing two huge blasts. One was 2.3 the other was 2.9 magnitude. 

At least 7 people have been confirmed to have been killed in the blast (some news outlets now reporting 17) (3 fire fighters now confirmed to have died), however this total is certain to rise. Hundreds have been injured, burns, cuts and blast injuries, hospitals in the area have been overwhelmed. 

(Gif of the explosion close up)

Another video showing both blasts closer to the area.

 Several buildings close to the area have been severely damaged, many more have been evacuated, the blast was so powerful that it has ripped doors off walls in some areas.

There is a reddit thread currently going on, it contains some links which are definitely NSFW, but right now appears to have the most upto date coverage.

It's now dawn in the area and images of the morning after are coming in, the level of damage to the surrounding area is shocking.

That above image was taken 300m from the blast site, over 1000 new cars totally destroyed, a nearby building completely destroyed. Not sure if it's the same factory but car maker Renault has 6000 cars in their site, at least 1 third are destroyed.

Picture taken at 600m away.

Will update the OP with the inevitable updates that come with this.

[Sean]

Holy shit. This doesn't even sound like something that could possibly happen. This is terrible, I hope as many victims are able to recover as possible.

[Kaze no Klonoa]

A few of my friends (And a lot of people online too) are speculating that the death toll will probably raise in the hundreds, if not the thousands. Just...Holy shit! This is such a unreal thing and I hope everybody there will be able to recover from this incident.

[Badnik Mechanic]

 if not the thousands.

I don't think it will be that high for the following reason.

The explosion happened in the port around warehouses, that area is mainly industry/storage buildings, not residential areas (thankfully), casualties are most likely to be emergency workers who initially responded to the fire, anyone who was still working at the port (which won't be that many), and anyone close by to the blast.

This is going to be a low number.

Injuries however, I would expect they never get a final number, looking at some pics on twitter and instagram many have cuts which seem to be treatable at home.

[Johnny Boy]

I just saw this all over my Twitter feed not to long ago. I really hope the survivors of the blast are able to pull through and recover.

[Kaze no Klonoa]

There's a live Reddit Thread that'll keep up to date regarding recent news towards the event.

https://www.reddit.com/live/veh2e41lp0he

[Tani Coyote]

It's fortunate the death toll will be minimal given its occurrence in an industrial area if nothing else. My condolences to those who die and their families regardless.

 

I can't shake this feeling this is probably the result of lax safety standards which I've heard a lot of Chinese factories are notorious for. If so, that will make this even more tragic since it could have been perfectly avoidable.

[Your Vest Friend]

This video is taken from a building close enough for the blast shockwave to damage it. Fortunately everyone in the vid is okay.

[Tani Coyote]

He showed great intelligence in running for cover the moment he saw the second blast flare up.

 

You think the first explosion is bad, but that second one completely overshadows it.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

So uh I checked the BBC website...

At least 44 people are known to have died (12 were firefighters), more than 500 are injured, and 36 people are missing.

Well, my condolences to the families who lost their loved ones, and I hope the injured get well soon!

 

[MightyRay]

Man I hope everyone who got injured has a good recovery. Those videos really made my skin crawl... goes to show how powerful an explosion can be up close.