112 dead, 95 missing in Tianjin blasts
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E-mail China.org.cn, August 16, 2015
Ten more bodies were found on Saturday night, pushing the death toll from the massive warehouse explosions in North China's Tianjin city to 112 by 9 am on Sunday. Of the bodies, 24 have been identified and 88 others will need DNA testing.
![Workers map using a drone near the explosion site in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Aug. 16, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20150816/7427ea210acc173a6baf1d.jpg "Workers map using a drone near the explosion site in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Aug. 16, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua]") |
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Workers map using a drone near the explosion site in north China's Tianjin Municipality, Aug. 16, 2015.[Photo/Xinhua] |
Another 95 people remain missing, including 85 firefighters.
The latest rescued was a man in his fifties.
Specialized anti-chemical soldiers rescued him only 50 meters away from a burst point Saturday afternoon, two and a half days after two huge explosions at a warehouse for hazardous chemicals at about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday following a fire.
The man was conscious and could talk when rescued. He was immediately rushed to the hospital.
The man suffered from respiratory tract burn but was in a stable condition after emergency treatment, said Li Jingmei, a doctor from the No.254 hospital in Tianjin.
Seventy specialized anti-chemical soldiers in heavy uniforms entered the core area of the blasts site on Saturday morning to search for possible lives. Another 90 joined them to work in turns.
Meanwhile, another 1,100 troops were combing nearby residential quarters home by home to search for potential survivors.
Wen Wurui, head of the Tianjin municipal bureau of environmental protection, said environmental specialists are taking measures to prevent air and water pollution caused by chemicals leaked from the blasts.
Authorities have closed three sewage outlets to the sea and also used cement to block all drain outlets at the blast site to avoid pollution of waters outside the site, Wen said.
Other measures include the construction of cofferdams to prevent leaked chemicals from polluting farther when it rains, using hydrogen peroxide to reduce the amount of cyanide, and collection of sewage water at the blast site for special treatment.
Sodium cyanide, though highly toxic, is not volatile in normal conditions and only emit hydrogen cyanide into the air when meeting water, Wen said, adding dozens of stations are closely monitoring the quality of air and water.
Meanwhile, Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun said saving lives will remain the top priority even beyond the 72-hour golden period for rescue.
He urged rescuers not to give up on hopes, while leaving no single corner unchecked during the search and rescue mission.
Guo also urged a scrupulous plan to handle and clean up hazardous chemicals in a scientific way, so as to absolutely prevent any impacts on rescuers and nearby residents.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday urged authorities to learn from the "extremely profound" lessons paid for with blood.
Xi said in a written instruction that the Tianjin blasts and a string of serious accidents recently exposed severe problems in the work safety sector, and authorities must always keep "safe growth" and "people's interest first" in mind to avoid such accidents.
Premier Li Keqiang urged authorities to take forceful and effective measures to rectify the weak link so as to formulate a long-term mechanism to avoid the repetition of accidents.
The State Council on Saturday called a national tele-conference to lay out work on a national safety inspection that will target industries related with dangerous chemicals, explosives, fireworks, elevators, non-coal mines, public transport and ports.
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