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Few Answers and Rising Death Toll After Tianjin Explosions Homes Closest to China Chemical Fire Were 2,000 Feet Away
(about 3 hours later)
TIANJIN, China — With plumes of toxic smoke still hovering on the horizon, officials of this port city near Beijing were scrambling on Friday to understand what caused the calamitous blasts that killed dozens of people this week, even as questions persisted about why the authorities had allowed a company that handled dangerous chemicals to operate so close to residential areas. BEIJING — The high-rise apartment complex closest to Tianjin’s toxic chemical storage inferno was only 2,000 feet away, despite Chinese laws requiring a 3,200-foot minimum distance from hazardous sites.
The death toll climbed to 56 on Friday, but it was expected to rise further as emergency workers combed the wreckage for the remains of victims of the two huge explosions on Wednesday night, at least 21 of them firefighters. The disclosure was among the new details emerging on Friday that suggested possible criminal negligence, mixed with rife speculation of an official cover-up, in the aftermath of the fire Wednesday night in Tianjin — China’s third-largest city and a major northeast seaport, about 90 miles east of Beijing.
The blasts engulfed office buildings and port facilities, as well as onlookers who had gathered to watch the firefighters at work. With the death toll rising to at least 56 on Friday, more than 700 hospitalized and an unknown number still missing in the smoldering wreckage, the fire was shaping up as one of China’s worst industrial calamities. It appeared to expose the kinds of regulatory lapses that have plagued the country’s transformation into a global economic powerhouse.
In a rare bit of good news, the state news media on Friday reported that rescue workers had found an injured firefighter at the scene more than a full day after a pair of spectacular fireballs lit up the night sky and percussive blasts shattered windows more than a mile away. The flames and flying debris injured more than 700 people, at least 70 of them critically, according to the state news media. Government officials, acutely aware of concerns over the fire, have sought to suppress unauthorized information. They seemed unprepared for the tough questions posed at a news conference in Tianjin on Friday, including why hazardous chemicals had been stockpiled so near populated areas. They abruptly ended the conference.
With censors seeking to control the flow of information, the vacuum was filled by online speculation about the owners of Rui Hai International Logistics, the company that owned the warehouse where the blasts occurred, and whether they might be connected to senior government leaders. With uncharacteristic defiance, some Chinese news outlets did their own reporting anyway.
Local residents have said they had no idea that any risk had been posed by the warehouses where the fire began, a modest blaze that suddenly exploded in mammoth fireballs. They engulfed office buildings and port facilities, as well as onlookers who had gathered to watch the firefighters at work.
The developers of Vanke Port City, a residential complex that is practically at the incinerated area’s doorstep and has now been evacuated indefinitely, said they had been told when they started construction in 2010 that the warehouses in question handled only “common goods.”
“We were never notified that the warehouses were modified to handle dangerous goods,” a spokesman for the developer said in an email.
According to Chinese law, facilities that handle hazardous materials must be more than 3,200 feet from homes and public buildings. Vanke is 2,000 feet away.
Suspicions among the populace were further raised by the censorship of information. The vacuum was filled by online speculation about whether the owners of Rui Hai International Logistics, the company that owned the warehouse where the blasts originated, might be connected to senior government leaders.
The government’s online corporate registry for Tianjin remained offline nearly two days after the disaster, fueling concerns about a possible cover-up. Officials have said that the blasts disabled the website, which lists details about corporate ownership.The government’s online corporate registry for Tianjin remained offline nearly two days after the disaster, fueling concerns about a possible cover-up. Officials have said that the blasts disabled the website, which lists details about corporate ownership.
Questions have also been raised about whether the hundreds of firefighters who raced to the scene had been aware of the potential hazards, and whether they had been trained to combat complex and volatile chemical fires. At least 24 of the dead were firefighters.
According to news reports, about 700 tons of sodium cyanide, a compound that releases highly toxic gas, had been stored at the Rui Hai warehouse. The site was also licensed to handle calcium carbide, a dangerous compound known to release flammable gases when mixed with water.
One fire official told The Paper, an online Chinese publication, that water might have been used to douse the initial fire. Southern Weekly, a newspaper known for occasional muckraking reporting, quoted a firefighter who said he had received no instructions about the risks of spraying water on the fire.
During a news conference on Thursday, a fire official, Zhou Tian, said that the first fire brigade to reach the scene had been trying to determine the contents of the Rui Hai warehouse, and that a second brigade had arrived moments before the explosions occurred. “They were caught off guard, so the injuries are grave,” he said.
Officials have said they cannot determine exactly what kinds of chemicals were stored at the site, saying that the company had provided them with conflicting accounts. Earlier reports in the state news media said that senior company managers had been detained for questioning.
In a rare bit of good news, the state news media reported on Friday that rescue workers had found an injured firefighter at the scene more than a full day after the fire.
Throughout the day, explosions shook the site, including a series of small blasts at dusk that sent columns of alternately black and white smoke into the air.Throughout the day, explosions shook the site, including a series of small blasts at dusk that sent columns of alternately black and white smoke into the air.
Several Chinese news outlets appeared to be defying a central government ban on independent reporting, and officials in Tianjin appeared to have been unprepared for tough questions about the disaster. On Friday, flustered officials abruptly ended a news conference. Bulldozer operators sent by the local railroad company were helping clear paths through an otherworldly jumble of scorched vehicles and battered shipping containers. Nearby, a cordon of paramilitary police officers wearing face masks prevented people from returning to their homes at Vanke Port City.
The blasts on Wednesday night were preceded by a modest fire at the warehouse. Questions have been raised about whether the hundreds of firefighters who raced to the scene had been aware of the potential hazards, and about whether they were trained to combat complex and volatile chemical fires.
According to news reports, about 700 tons of sodium cyanide, a compound that releases highly toxic gas, were stored at the warehouse. The site was also licensed to handle calcium carbide, a dangerous compound known to release flammable gases when mixed with water.
One fire official told The Paper, an online Chinese publication, that water might have been used to douse the initial fire, which reportedly involved one or more vehicles. Southern Weekly, a newspaper known for occasional muckraking reporting, quoted a firefighter who said he had received no instructions about the risks of spraying water on the fire.
During a news conference on Thursday, another fire official, Zhou Tian, said that the first fire brigade to reach the scene had been trying to determine the contents of the warehouse, and that a second brigade had arrived moments before the explosions occurred. “They were caught off guard, so the injuries are grave,” he said.
Officials have been unable to determine exactly what kinds of chemicals were being stored at the site, saying that the company had provided them with conflicting accounts. Earlier reports in the state news media said that senior company managers had been detained for questioning.
On Friday, bulldozer operators sent by the local railroad company were helping clear paths through an otherworldly jumble of scorched vehicles and battered shipping containers. Nearby, a cordon of paramilitary police officers wearing face masks prevented people from returning to their homes at Vanke Port City, a high-rise apartment complex perilously close to the site of the blasts.
“I haven’t changed my clothes in three days,” said one resident, Yuan Ping, 30, a telecommunications worker who described how she lost her dog as she and her family scrambled to safety on the night of the explosions. “A police officer told me the air inside was so toxic that my dog was probably dead.”“I haven’t changed my clothes in three days,” said one resident, Yuan Ping, 30, a telecommunications worker who described how she lost her dog as she and her family scrambled to safety on the night of the explosions. “A police officer told me the air inside was so toxic that my dog was probably dead.”
With roughly 6,000 residents forced from their homes and countless others unsure about whether it was safe to breathe the air, government officials struggled to reassure the public that there was little danger. On Friday, they acknowledged that sodium cyanide had been found in sewer pipes under a port, but they said that workers had shut the drains, ensuring that none of the chemical would seep into the adjacent Bohai Bay. Another resident reacted angrily to published reports describing a study by the Tianjin Academy of Environmental Sciences that endorsed Rui Hai’s plans to expand its business into handling hazardous chemicals. The report, produced last year, claimed that a survey of local residents had found unanimous support for the project. “That’s nonsense,” the resident said from the hospital where he was being treated for a broken arm. “If we had known, who would have dared to live there?”
According to The Beijing News, Rui Hai had at one point submitted documents saying it did not handle dangerous chemicals, but claimed in a subsequent filing that it had received the required permission from port officials. With roughly 6,000 residents forced from their homes and countless others unsure whether it was safe to breathe the air, government officials struggled to reassure the public that there was little danger. On Friday, they acknowledged that sodium cyanide had been found in sewer pipes under a port, but they said that workers had shut the drains, ensuring that none of the chemical would seep into the adjacent Bohai Bay.
The newspaper, quoting a deputy manager at Rui Hai, said workers were unsure what was stored at the site, a way station for chemicals awaiting export or transport to other parts of the country. Another employee told China National Radio that workers had received no special training on how to handle dangerous cargo. According to The Beijing News, Rui Hai at one point submitted documents saying it did not handle dangerous chemicals, but claimed in a subsequent filing that it had received the required permission from port officials.
Local residents have said they had no idea that the site posed any risk. The developers of Vanke Port City, which is less than 2,000 feet from the blast site, said they were told when they started construction in 2010 that the warehouse handled only “common goods.” The newspaper, quoting a deputy manager at Rui Hai, said workers were unsure what was stored at the site, a way station for chemicals awaiting export or transport to other parts of China. Another employee told China National Radio that workers had received no special training on how to handle dangerous cargo.
“We were never notified that the warehouses were modified to handle dangerous goods,” a spokesman for the developer said in an email.
According to Chinese law, facilities that handle hazardous materials must be more than 3,200 feet from homes and public buildings.
China has a grim record of deadly industrial accidents, including an explosion at a car parts factory near Shanghai last August that killed 163 workers and injured nearly 100 others.China has a grim record of deadly industrial accidents, including an explosion at a car parts factory near Shanghai last August that killed 163 workers and injured nearly 100 others.
Cheng Qian of Greenpeace said that Chinese laws regarding the construction of chemical facilities were confusing and riddled with loopholes, and she added that 10 government ministries had a role in managing hazardous industries. Cheng Qian, a toxic substances specialist at Greenpeace, the international environmental advocacy group, said that Chinese laws regarding the construction of chemical facilities were confusing and riddled with loopholes. She said 10 government ministries had a role in managing hazardous industries.
“Tianjin is an advanced industrial area, but what about elsewhere?” she asked. “What’s required is a really good system that functions.”“Tianjin is an advanced industrial area, but what about elsewhere?” she asked. “What’s required is a really good system that functions.”