News / China

Rains to hinder rescue, spread pollution at Tianjin blasts site

Tuesday, 18 August 2015 7:40 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 18 August 2015 7:40 AM ]

Mangled cargo containers and twisted wreckage at the site of the explosions in Tianjin, August 16, 2015. (AFP Photo)

Weather forecasts have clouded China's Tianjin port with fears of more pollution and rescue hurdles at the site of the deadly warehouse explosions that rocked the city last week.

China’s central meteorological authority warned on Tuesday that a thunderstorm is expected over the blasts site in Tianjin, where hundreds of tons of cyanide and other lethal chemicals still reside.

The rainwater may react with the scattered chemicals at the site, which might in turn lead to more explosions and spread of toxins over the area, a chemical weapons specialist present at the site told China's Xinhua news agency.

The core of the disaster zone, an estimated 100,000-square-meter area, is secluded from its surroundings by cofferdams and the authorities have announced their plans for constant reinforcement of these barriers to prevent the outflow of the contaminated rainwater.

Earlier, Chinese officials ordered local residents within a 3-kilometer (1.8-mile) radius of the Tianjin blasts site to evacuate the area amid pollution concerns.

The evacuation order was issued after a change in the direction of the wind over the cordoned-off blast zone. Chinese officials are concerned that toxic material floating in the air after the massive explosions could be inhaled by unsuspecting citizens.

The two huge blasts that occurred at a warehouse for hazardous chemicals on August 12 killed a total of 114 people. Seventy more people are still missing and search missions are being carried out to find them.

The warehouse stored some 3,000 tons of highly hazardous chemicals namely 700 tons of sodium cyanide at the time of the explosions.

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