AT LEAST 44 DEAD FOLLOWING MASS EXPLOSION IN CHINESE INDUSTRIAL AREA
44 people have died in two huge explosions in Tianjin in northeastern China.
A news agency in the country says the death toll has more than doubled, and 12 firefighters are among the dead.
Contact has been lost with 36 other firefighters, and around 520 people are injured – 66 of them critically.
Reports say many were hurt by broken glass, and local hospitals are struggling to cope.
Patrick is a tourist in Tianjin and says there was huge confusion when the blast happened.
“There was no heat, there was just like a big huge like a ‘death cloud’ – everybody thought ‘Oh right, so no earthquake, it’s an explosion'” he said.
“I asked some people on the street, they had no idea – some said there’s a building that exploded, another said there’s a gas station that exploded”.
“Just shaking their heads; (but) a lot of people on the street though – everybody thought it’s an earthquake” he added.
