‘Is this a nuclear bomb?’: drone captures apocalyptic scenes in Tianjin, China, after industrial explosions

In the aftermath of deadly explosions at a chemicals warehouse, parts of Tianjin city in China looked like scenes from an apocalyptic film or a war zone, with destroyed buildings and homes, torched cars and pillars of thick smoke.

Testament to the devastation, eyewitnesses compared the strength of the blasts to military bombs. “Our building is shaking. Is this an atomic bomb?” a frenzied voice is heard saying in amateur footage posted on YouTube from what appeared to be an apartment building some distance away from the Binhai New Area, the epicentre.

The clip showed fire shooting into the night sky from the initial blast when the second, much bigger, explosion rocked the area, sending a huge fireball into the air. Seconds later, the apartment building is seen violently shaking.

In another amateur video which appears to be shot closer to the scene, people scream from inside a car as the shockwave hits from the second blast, rocking their vehicle.

WATCH: Amateur footage of the explosions in Tianjn (WARNING: May be upsetting to some viewers)