China Blast Zone Evacuated As Deaths Rise To 112
Residents have been evacuated from a 1.5-mile zone after deadly sodium cyanide was found at the site of explosions that killed more than 100 people in the Chinese port city of Tianjin.
Chinese authorities now fear chemical contamination after the series of blasts at a warehouse of hazardous chemicals on Wednesday, despite earlier assurances that the air quality remained safe.
Sodium cyanide , which can be fatal when ingested or inhaled, was found "roughly east of the blast site", according to police.
It was not immediately clear how much had been found or how great a risk it posed.
Thousands of residents had already been moved to nearby schools after homes and apartment buildings were damaged, mostly by the shockwaves from the explosions.
One of those schools is among the areas evacuated and residents have been advised to wear long trousers and face masks.
On Sunday, Chinese state media said the number of dead had risen to 112.
About 6,300 people have been displaced and around 721 injured, with 33 of those in a serious condition, Xinhua news agency said.
More than 200 nuclear and biochemical experts from the Chinese military and a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency's Beijing environmental emergency response centre have been assessing the area.
China has also launched a nationwide inspection of dangerous chemicals and explosives, with The State Council - the country's equivalent of the Cabinet, saying the country must learn a "profound" lesson from the explosions.
Meanwhile, angry relatives of missing firefighters have stormed a government news conference demanding information about their loved ones.
"We have gone to each and every hospital by ourselves and not found them," said Wang Baoxia, whose elder brother is missing.
"There is no government official willing to meet us. Not even one."
Tianjin Fire Department head Zhou Tian said on Friday that the explosions occurred as reinforcements arrived on the scene and were just getting to work.
"There was no chance to escape, and that's why the casualties were so severe," he said. "We're now doing all we can to rescue the missing."
Officials have faced questions about whether the firefighters inadvertently sparked the explosion by using water around volatile chemicals and why the hazardous chemicals warehouse was so close to residential buildings and other critical infrastructure.
Hazardous chemical warehouses must be at least 1,000m away from public buildings, highways, railways and industrial enterprises, Chinese regulations state.
But Google Earth shows that Ruihai's two hazmat warehouses are less than 500m from the S11 Haibin Expressway and huge apartment complex.
Windows in the housing development were shattered and the side facing the explosions blackened.
Firefighters were still working to extinguish blazes at the site on Saturday and China Central Television reported seven small explosions.
A Reuters witness said a new fire ignited cars in a car park next to the blast site.
