Chemical experts assessing air around China blast site after 50 killed
Pressure grows for authorities to explain the cause of blasts and reveal what chemicals were in the depot
A Chinese military team of nuclear and chemical experts began work Thursday at the site of two massive explosions in the city of Tianjin, state media said, as pressure grows for authorities to explain the cause of blasts that left 50 dead.
The detonation at a chemical warehouse in the major Chinese port city also injured more than 700, according to official media, leaving a devastated landscape of incinerated cars, toppled shipping containers and burnt-out buildings.
The 217-strong group of military specialists tested the air around the site for toxic gases, with rescue teams ordered to wear protective clothing in the vicinity due to the ongoing risk of leaking poisonous chemicals, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Rescuers were attempting to remove 700 tons of deadly sodium cyanide from the area late Thursday, Communist Party newspaper the People’s Daily reported.
On Thursday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and the injuries to scores of people”.