Explosão gigante em Tianjin, China

Details on the aftermath are coming in. Chinese state media is saying that the "big blast" may have been a shipping container full of explosives that was set off, likely by the first explosion.

More details from Time and CNN.

Time:
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The death toll from Wednesday’s massive explosion in the Chinese city of Tianjin continues to rise, with at least 44 people dead and 520 others hospitalized, of which 66 are in critical condition, China’s Xinhua news agency reported Thursday afternoon.

Several of the dead are reportedly firefighters, and rescue operations have been temporarily suspended while chemical teams scan the area for harmful materials, Xinhua added.


Local police said the blast, at one of many warehouses in the city’s port district of Binhai, occurred at around 11.30 p.m. local time. It triggered another larger blast 30 minutes later that was the equivalent of 21 tons of TNT, the New York Times reported. According to the Times, the warehouse belonged to Rui Hai International Logistics, a company that transports and handles hazardous cargo

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CNN:
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At least 44 are confirmed dead, 12 firefighters among them, state media reported Thursday. More than 500 are hospitalized, 66 with critical injuries. Dozens of firefighters are missing.

Local authorities suspended firefighting efforts because of a lack of information about the "dangerous goods" stored at the warehouse at the heart of the blasts, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The blasts originated at a warehouse site owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd., a company that stores and transports dangerous chemicals, according to Xinhua. Company executives have been taken into custody, state media said.

The explosions' destructive force tore through Tianjin, smashing buildings and crushing shipping containers.

The first blast was huge, but the second was even more powerful -- the equivalent of 21 metric tons of TNT, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center.

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