Massive Explosion Reported in Chinese city - See mod note in OP

12-08-2015 07:28PM #1

Mod Edit:

Any jokes about this catastrophe will NOT be tolerated.

A massive explosion was reported in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, according to the BBC.

The explosion occurred around 11:30 p.m. local time in an industrial area of the city, according to the South China Morning Post. The blast was reportedly caused by explosives at a container terminal.

A hospital in the city was treating more than 50 people, with new patients streaming in, China Xinhua News reported.

The population of Tianjin is 7.49 million according to the most recent UN data.

Source: Time.com

A video of the explosion -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpSgDp5KfDA

Jesus. It looks like something from a movie. The sheer scale of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1aHADL2a24

Oh. My. F*cking. God on that second video.

cml387 · 12-08-2015 07:32PM

Just wow. That is a powerful explosion.

It would be interesting to know if it was a BLEVE. A fire would have to be burning for some time for that to happen.

BoJack Horseman · 12-08-2015 07:33PM

like a shot from Godzilla tearing a power plant apart

Diamond Doll · 12-08-2015 07:37PM

Fucking hell, that is terrifying!

12-08-2015 07:40PM

This is a compilation of footage recorded so far. Please be warned that some of these clips may be hard to watch for some, it doesn't show any gore, but just be wary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQwRMGa4jsU

The first clip, there's no way that the person survived being that close, so people on Reddit are guessing that perhaps it was an automatic live upload from their phone to YouTube.

Cops and other personnel are not allowing anyone near the scene, especially anyone in the media, which explains the lack of international reporting and details. Nobody knows what happened yet.

https://twitter.com/MSimonTV/status/631523427157942272

nokia69 · 12-08-2015 07:42PM

I know they like their fireworks, but thats a bit much IMO

inforfun · 12-08-2015 07:43PM

Reminds me of that fireworks factory that exploded years ago in Enschede, Holland.
And China has a few of those.

BoJack Horseman · 12-08-2015 07:48PM

Euronews are saying it was a petroleum storage facility that exploded.

My name is URL · 12-08-2015 07:51PM

Watch the start of this video at 25% normal speed. Holy shit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJx8dSe93Ak

whomitconcerns · 12-08-2015 07:52PM

Wow..No words for that...

Crimson King · 12-08-2015 07:53PM

Petrol storage plant according to the bbc
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-33896292

12-08-2015 07:53PM

No word on the death toll, but an explosion that size outside or near a city of just under 8 million... Jesus. Wouldn't be surprised if it'll be in the hundreds.

steddyeddy · 12-08-2015 07:53PM

Wouldn't surprise me if it was another incident involving lax Chinese safety regulations putting workers in danger.

Atlantic Dawn · 12-08-2015 07:54PM

Proper fireworks there, none of your Moore Street rubbish...

Nodin · 12-08-2015 07:54PM

Ye wouldn't want to be wearin the good underwear when that went off.

12-08-2015 07:55PM

My name is URL wrote: »

Watch the start of this video at 25% normal speed. Holy shit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJx8dSe93Ak

There's absolutely no way they survived. If the shockwave didn't kill them, that huge amount of debris would have.

Crimson King · 12-08-2015 07:56PM

https://mobile.twitter.com/passantino/status/631537392189509633/video/1

Jesus, unreal blast. Poor guy at the door, be warned

Antar Bolaeisk · 12-08-2015 07:57PM

Those top two videos, they're about two kilometres away from the blast!

jamesbere · 12-08-2015 08:00PM

F**king hell that's nuts. Anyone within the the general vicinity of that must be dead or badly injured.

12-08-2015 08:00PM

There are seemingly fears of blood shortages at local hospitals to cater for the mass casualties.

https://twitter.com/MSimonTV/status/631538923576147968

That's not good. Really not good. Kinda indicates the numbers they're facing.

Youngblood.III · 12-08-2015 08:02PM

Dear God..that's like a nuclear explosion :-(
RIP to all those people.

Nodin · 12-08-2015 08:05PM

Youngblood.III wrote: »

Dear God..that's like a nuclear explosion :-(
RIP to all those people.

The fact that it was at night might minimise casualties somewhat....half eleven, according to the beeb.

The Backwards Man · 12-08-2015 08:05PM

steddyeddy wrote: »

Wouldn't surprise me if it was another incident involving lax Chinese safety regulations putting workers in danger.

Not necessarily, explosions of that magnitude happen all over the world. I recall ones in Quebec, Texas, and Cyprus in the last couple of years. It's the high nearby population density that will probably make this one more serious.

12-08-2015 08:06PM

Crimson King wrote: »

https://mobile.twitter.com/passantino/status/631537392189509633/video/1

Jesus, unreal blast. Poor guy at the door, be warned

Just watched that. The other person surely died too.

From Reddit -

Details from the local, two oil tanks exploded about half an hour ago, the firefighters failed to put it out and a series of explosions triggered by the chemicals in the container terminal nearby, all firefighters, people who watching nearby die on scene.
The fact that chemical is concentrated in that area, people panic and concerns the releasing of toxic gases after the explosion, many evacuating caused road jam.
They said no one is alive within 1km in diameter, the explosions happened in tanggu district which is residential area in developing.
The total population of Binhai is 2.5 millions and the population density in the area is expected 2000/kmsq, expected casualties will be around 7000~70000.

No link to back it up yet, but plausible.

Everybody dead in a 1KM radius. In a country as densely populated as China. The figure of 7000 - 70000 is.. mindnumbing.

Professey Chin · 12-08-2015 08:06PM

Fuuuuuucking hellllll O_O

nokia69 · 12-08-2015 08:07PM

Youngblood.III wrote: »

Dear God..that's like a nuclear explosion :-(
RIP to all those people.

if that just happened in Hiroshima the lads in Nagasaki would be heading for the hills, just to be safe like

cml387 · 12-08-2015 08:10PM

Example of a bleve:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM0jtD_OWLU

12-08-2015 08:14PM

Reports now saying that buildings collapsed 10KM away from the explosion. If this coupled with nobody being left alive within 1KM away from the explosion is true, then we may be looking at a death toll in the hundreds, if not thousands ...

BoJack Horseman · 12-08-2015 08:16PM

Deleted User wrote: »

Everybody dead in a 1KM radius. In a country as densely populated as China. The figure of 7000 - 70000 is.. mindnumbing.

Its not likely tbh.....

as a comparative, the nuclear bomb that destroyed Hiroshima had a total fatality radius of the same..... 1km

Casualties wont be anything like 7,000 - 70,000

(eg: The hiroshima bomb in Dublin)
http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&kt=15&lat=53.3498053&lng=-6.2603097&airburst=0&hob_ft=0&zm=14

Thirdfox · 12-08-2015 08:16PM

My grandparents-in-law live in Tianjin - trying to find out if they're ok so would appreciate it if jokes were kept to a minimum, thanks.

edit: suffice it to say - hopefully those casualty figures estimated on Reddit are completely wrong, seems like the explosion took place in the port area and away from residential areas.

edit2: this is what the official Chinese papers say (for those who trust them):
http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/08/12/explosion-reported-in-tianjin-china
China’s People’s Daily newspaper has reported that 50 people being currently being treated at Teda Hospital in Tianjin. No deaths have been reported so far. The number of wounded are increasing.

The National Business Daily newspaper also reported that two firefighters battling the blaze are missing and six are slightly wounded. Six fire brigades are on the scene and the fire is nearly out. The newspaper also reported that 300-400 people are wounded. CCTV News has also reported that the fire will take more than two hours to be completely extinguished.

Read more: http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/08/12/explosion-reported-in-tianjin-china#ixzz3id89n3Nc
Watch us live anywhere at http://www.cctvamericalive.com
Follow us: @cctv_america on Twitter | CCTVAmerica on Facebook

sjb25 · 12-08-2015 08:18PM

Fcuking hell:eek:

Massive Explosion Reported in Chinese city - See mod note in OP

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