Tianjin, Northern Chinese City, Shaken By An Enormous Blasts, Dozens Are Dead

The Chinese city of Tianjin has been shaken by a series of three or four gigantic explosions Wednesday at 12:30 am EST. According to People’s Daily in China, a petrol storage station at Tianjin’s Binhai New Development Zone blew up. No cause has been cited yet. At least 700 people were injured and taken to the hospital. At least twelve firefighters died. Dozens of people were reportedly dead according to CNN’s Tokyo correspondent Will Ripley. The martial law has been declared in the city.

The blast woke up the city in the middle of the night, with several loud explosions, with burning dust falling from the sky, creating a mushroom cloud. The explosion was filmed by many and posted on YouTube and Twitter. Photos of corpses in the streets were posted on Weibo, the Chinese Twitter.

According to Zhulin Zhang, a journalist for Courrier International, residents were told to stay home and close their windows by the police.

#Tianjin L’incendie se poursuit pic.twitter.com/Wad6Lx1XeL

7.5 million people live in Tianjin, which is located 93 miles away from Beijing, capital of the People’s Republic of China. People seem to be leaving the city, causing a huge traffic jam according to this video.

Also, the explosions were so strong they were reportedly seen from space. They even produced a seismic wave, recorded by measuring tools as magnitudes 2.3 and 2.9 ML.