At least 17 people were killed and 400 others wounded last night after a huge explosion in a warehouse storing explosive material in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin, officials and state media reported. State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said a shipment of explosives had detonated but this was not confirmed. The China Earthquake Networks Centre said the magnitude of the first explosion was the equivalent of detonating three tons of TNT, while the second was the equivalent of 21 tons of the explosive. CCTV said four firefighters were among the dead and that more than 400 people had been injured, at least 32 of them critically. The official Xinhua news agency said an initial explosion triggered other blasts at nearby businesses. The National Earthquake Bureau reported two major blasts before midnight, the first with an equivalent of 3 tons of TNT, and the second with the equivalent of 21 tons. The logistics company was identified in state media as Ruihai Logistics. The company says on its website that it was established in 2011 and is an approved company for handling hazardous materials. It says it handles 1 million tons of cargo annually. Tianjin is about 120 kilometers East of Beijing on the Bohai Sea and is one of the country’s major ports.
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