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China Blast Survivors Face Toxic Gas Threat

Chinese authorities are scrambling to clear up to 700 tonnes of toxic sodium cyanide thought to have been stored at the site of the Tianjin explosions.

The discovery has led to homes within a 1.5-mile zone being evacuated, as the chemical can be fatal when ingested or inhaled.

It comes as the death toll rose to 112 and those declared missing increased significantly from 18 to 95 - including 85 firefighters.

With small explosions continuing to rock the area, authorities are now rushing to clean up the chemical contamination and prevent another tragedy occurring.

The 700-tonne figure quoted by several state media outlets is 70 times more than the warehouse should have been holding.

Sodium cyanide can form a flammable gas upon contact with water - and there are questions over whether firefighters caused the explosion while trying to extinguish fires.

Fears are growing that any rainfall could produce toxic gases in the area.

Residents have been advised to wear long trousers and face masks, but officials insist there is no threat to people outside the evacuation zone.

"I can responsibly say that there will be no secondary damage to the people," Shi Luze, the chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army's Beijing Military Region, told reporters.

However, residents of a nearby housing complex seem not to be reassured.

Many unfurled banners demanding government accountability and demanding compensation for their damaged homes.

More than 200 nuclear and biochemical experts from the Chinese military have been assessing the industrial area of Tianjin, 75 miles east of Beijing.

A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency's environmental emergency response centre has also been present.

Outside the hotel where the authorities hold regular news conferences, a woman pleaded for information about her husband.

"(They) have said nothing. We know nothing," the woman said. "We've been told nothing."

A man demanded information from a government official, saying: "We've been here for three days, and we've not had one piece of information."

About 6,300 people have been displaced by the tragedy and 721 injured, with 33 of those in a serious condition, Xinhua news agency said.