TIANJIN, China -- The Chinese are saying that 50 are dead, but that is sure to rise. At least 700 are injured, dozens are missing. The blast erupted at the seaport, in a warehouse for hazardous materials.
A stunning video taken by a drone gives an aerial view of the aftermath: The skeleton of burned buildings, shipping containers smoldering, acrid smoke belching into the sky.
More than a thousand firefighters were sent in, but they were stopped as authorities tried to figure out which chemicals were burning -- and their risk.
At one building, on the side facing the blast, every single window is blown out. The second explosion had the power of more than 20 tons of TNT.
Kelly Wang and Nathan Liu didn't have time to collect their belongings. "My home destroyed," she said. "No home to go to."
She described the explosion: "Everybody just ran out," she said. "We saw fire and a mushroom cloud. It's terrifying. Very terrifying."
The explosion in the Binhai New Area on the city's coast happened at about 11.30pm local time, with videos posted on social media showed a towering inferno above one of China's largest urban areas.
Reuters cited a statement by the city's government that 50 people were confirmed dead - including 12 firefighters - and as many as 700 injured, over 71 seriously. The Beijing News, an official outlet, reported that authorities had lost contact with 36 firefighters on the scene.
As many as eight fire engines were destroyed by the blast. Nearby, firefighters wept as they worked to extinguish the flames, Beijing News reported.
