Mounting questions over deadly Tianjin blast prove biggest test of Xi Jinping's leadership

The twin explosions that convulsed Tianjin have not only taken more than a hundred people's lives - they have dealt a political blow to the leadership under Communist Party chief and President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

Horror over the disaster at a chemical storage site in the northeastern metropolis last Wednesday has turned to public anger over a perceived government failure to handle the crisis.

"It is definitely the biggest political blow [yet] to the Xi-Li administration as the blasts exposed deep-rooted flaws in a political system that the new leadership had refused to address and their failure in handling the aftermath," said Zhang Lifan , a Beijing-based political commentator.

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Xigen Li, an associate professor at City University of Hong Kong's department of media and communications, said the unprecedented scale of the disaster made it a challenge for the government to respond promptly.

The leadership faces growing public outrage over the blasts, as people seek answers to a series of questions.

Were workers at the facility owned by Ruihai International Logistics properly trained? Were firefighters properly informed about the nature of the fire before they arrived at the scene? Is the city's air safe to breathe and is its water drinkable?

People have also been disappointed at the delayed reporting of the explosion by the government and state-run media.