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Huge explosions at a warehouse for dangerous materials in the northeastern Chinese port of Tianjin killed at least 50 people, including 17 firefighters, and injured hundreds of others.
The massive blasts late on Wednesday night sent fireballs into the air forming a mushroom cloud in the sky. 
More than 700 people are receiving treatment in hospital, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported. Seventy-one of them are said to be in a critical condition.
READ MORE: ‘Is this a nuclear bomb?’: apocalyptic scenes in Tianjin, China, after industrial explosions
The explosions late on Wednesday blew doors off buildings in the area and shattered windows up to several kilometers away.
Twelve firefighters were killed tackling the blaze, Xinhua said. Thirty-six are missing, according to an earlier report from The Beijing News.
Watch: Huge explosions rock Tianjin in northeast China

The authorities suspended firefighting efforts at the warehouse on Thursday morning for a few hours due to a lack of clarity about what dangerous goods were inside and how much was stored.
Firefighters returned later in the day and fires were still ablaze in four areas of the site, Xinhua reported.
Roads were still blocked by debris around the warehouse, hampering efforts to put out the fires, the report said. 
Firefighters at the scene told the Beijing Times it might be possible to bring the fires under control before it got dark on Thursday evening. 
About 8,000 troops trained in anti-chemical warfare and about 1,500 armed police joined relief and rescue efforts on Thursday afternoon. 
Experts in biological and nuclear hazards have also joined the rescue effort, state media said.
The city’s fire brigade said its personnel were sent to the warehouse at about 10.50pm on Wednesday night, 40 minutes before the first large explosion occurred.
About 1,000 firefighters were deployed before teams were briefly pulled out on Thursday morning.
Tianjin resident Zhang Siyu, whose home is several kilometers from the blast site, said she thought the explosions last night were an earthquake.
“Only once I was outside did I realise it was an explosion. There was the huge fireball in the sky with thick clouds. Everybody could see it.”

Zhang said she could see wounded people weeping. She said she did not see anyone who had been killed, but “I could feel death".
A 28-year-old man told the South China Morning Post that he was driving on a bridge about 1km from the warehouse when the first explosion occurred.
"The first blast was like setting off fire crackers and we were watching it from the car, but when the second one happened the shock wave was much stronger.
"It was like shooting stars. There were also balls of metal falling from from the sky. We had to leave our car and escape at once leaving all of our personal belongs behind," the driver said.
The force of the blast was so strong it buckled metalwork on the car and blew out all of its windows, he added..
Police in Tianjin said an initial blast took place at shipping containers in a warehouse for hazardous materials owned by Ruihai Logistics, a company that says it’s properly approved to handle hazardous materials. State media said senior management of the company had been detained by authorities.
It is part of an industrial park, with some apartment buildings nearby.
Among the chemicals the company handles are sodium cyanide, often used in the mining industry to help extract gold; plus toluene diisocyanate, a toxic organic compound, the China Youth Daily reported, citing the firm's website. 
The state-run Xinhua news agency said an initial explosion triggered other blasts at nearby businesses. The National Earthquake Bureau reported two major blasts before midnight, the first with an equivalent of 3 tonnes of TNT and the second with the equivalent of 21 tonnes.

China’s President Xi Jinping has told the city authorities to contain the fire and rescue the injured, the China News Service reported. He also ordered them to fully investigate the cause of the explosions and hold people accountable if they were found to be responsible for the disaster, the report said.
Photos taken by bystanders and circulating on microblogs show a gigantic fireball high in the sky, with a mushroom-cloud. Other photos on state media outlets showed a sea of fire that painted the night sky bright orange, with tall plumes of smoke. 
About 2 km from the explosion site is the luxury Fifth Avenue apartment complex on a road strewn with broken glass and pieces of charred metal thrown from explosion. Like surrounding buildings, the Mediterranean style complex had all its windows blown out and some its surfaces were scorched.
“It’s lucky no one had moved in,” said a worker on the site, Liu Junwei, 29. “But for us it’s a total loss. Two years hard work down the drain.”
“It had been all quiet, then the sky just lit up brighter than day and it looked like a fireworks show,” said another worker on the site who gave just his surname, Li. 
In one neighborhood about 10 to 20 km from the blast site, some residents were sleeping on the street wearing gas masks, although there was no perceptible problem with the air apart from massive clouds of smoke seen in the distance. 

“It was like what we were told a nuclear bomb would be like,” said truck driver Zhao Zhencheng, who spent the night in the cab of his truck. “I’ve never even thought I’d see such a thing. It was terrifying but also beautiful.”
At the nearby Taida Hospital as dawn broke, military medical tents were set up. Photos circulating online showed patients in bandages and with cuts.

One woman spent the night on the street after she was blown from her bed by shock waves from the explosions.
"Even the elevator doors in our block were buckled," she said.
Ruihai Logistics says on its website that it was established in 2011 and is an approved company for handling hazardous materials. It says it handles 1 million tonnes of cargo annually.
Tianjin, with a population of about 15 million, is about 120 km east of Beijing on the Bohai Sea and is one of the country’s major ports. It is also one of China’s more modern cities and is connected to the capital by a high-speed rail line.

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Tianjin warehouse explosion 2015

At least 50 dead, hundreds injured as blasts from hazardous materials warehouse rock Chinese city of Tianjin

An explosion happens in China’s Tianjin port. Photo: ImagineChina

Cars burned out by the blasts in Tianjin. Photo: Reuters

Flames engulf the sky after the blasts in Tianjin's Binhai New Area on Wednesday night. Photo: Xinhua

Flames and smoke rise from the site of a series of explosions in Tianjin. Photo: AFP

The blast seen from a distance. Photo: Thepaper.com 

Flames and smoke fill the night sky after the explosions. Photo: Thepaper.cn

An injured man is led away near the scene of the blasts. Photo: SCMP Pictures

One of the injured is treated in hospital. Photo: SCMP Pictures

An injured man is helped by hospital staff. Photo: SCMP Pictures

China's earthquake authorities recorded tremors created by the huge explosions. Photo: SCMP Pictures

IN PICTURES: Huge explosions in Tianjin leave dozens dead, injured

Smoke rises next to a damaged building at the site of the explosions. Photo: Reuters


Firefighters run as smoke rises at the site of the explosions at the Binhai. Photo: Reuters

A view of smoke billowing from the site of a large explosion is seen through a hole of a damaged building. Photo: EPA

A firefighter puts out flames in a container at the site of the explosion. Photo: Xinhua

Firefighters put out flames in a container at the site of the explosion. Photo: Xinhua

A man walking out of his apartment block with some belongings after a series of explosions at a chemical warehouse. Photo: AFP

Residents lighting candles outside a temporary shelter to pray for the victims after a series of explosions at a chemical warehouse. Photo: AFP

Huge explosions at a warehouse for dangerous materials in the northeastern Chinese port of Tianjin killed at least 50 people, including 12 firefighters, and injured hundreds of others. Photo: ImagineChina


Trucks pass a bridge near the explosion site in the Binhai New Area in north China's Tianjin municipality. Photo: Xinhua

Vehicles were in flames after the blasts. Photo: Reuters

Smoke and fire are seen from far away. Photo: Xinhua

Flames rise next to damaged buildings at the site of an explosion. Photo: AFP

A witness shows a camera photo of the initial moments after the blast. Photo: Xinhua

A warehouse is reduced to an inferno. Photo: AFP

An aerial view of the blast scene in Tianjin. Photo: Beijing Youth Daily

Firefighters walk past rows of charred cars near the site of the explosions in Tianjin. Photo: AFP

Smoke billows from the mangled remains of the warehouse. Photo: AFP

An injured man is placed in a wheelchair after receiving treatment at the Gangkou hospital in Tianjin. Photo: AFP

A man looks at pillars of smoke from the accident site. Photo: AFP

Firemen rest after battling the blaze for hours and recovering bodies, which emergency teams had yet to transport to the proper facilities. Photo: EPA

An ambulance sends injured people to a hospital. Photo: Xinhua

A handout picture from Weibo shows the interior of an office after the blast in Tianjin. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A handout picture from Weibo shows the interior of a house after the blast in Tianjin. Photo: SCMP Pictures

People seek refuge in temporary tents for those who escaped harm. Photo: Reuters

Debris seen at the accident scene. Photo: Beijing Youth Daily

Debris and flames seen at the accident scene. Photo: Beijing Youth Daily

Damaged vehicles are seen under bridges close to the site of the explosions at Binhai new district, Tianjin. Photo: Reuters

Armed police don protective masks as they prepare to tackle the blaze. Photo: PLA Daily

An aerial view shows the explosion site in Tianjin. Photo: People's Daily

Fires after massive warehouse blasts in the northern Chinese port of Tianjin are now "under initial control". Photo: People's Daily

An injuredman  in the explosion receives treatment in Tianjin Taida Hospital in Tianjin. Photo: Xinhua

A satellite photo taken by the Japan Meteorological Agency  shows a white spot on the city of Tianjin in China. Photo: AFP

Firefighters briefly pulled out of site of Tianjin warehouse blasts after 12 confirmed killed tackling blaze

Firefighters in Tianjin walk past a victim of last night's explosions. Photo: EPA

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

Taking on the look of a war zone or apocalyptic film, the gutted remains of an industrial area in Tianjin, China. Photo: Beijing Youth Daily

Fires were still burning after dawn. Photo: Beijing Youth Daily

Testament to the devastation, eyewitnesses compared the strength of the blasts to military bombs. Photo: Beijing Youth Daily

Shell-shocked residents posted photos of their homes, with unhinged doors and other damage. Photo: Beijing Youth Daily

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Twelve firefighters killed tackling blaze, says state-run media. Thirty-six are missing, according to newspaper report


Twelve firefighters killed tackling blaze, says state-run media. Thirty-six are missing, according to newspaper report


Update | At least 50 dead, hundreds injured as blasts from hazardous materials warehouse rock Chinese city of Tianjin

Twelve firefighters killed tackling blaze, says state-run media. Thirty-six are missing, according to newspaper report