Aftermath of explosions needs careful handling

At least 50 people, including firefighters, are known to have died in the explosions in China's northern port city of Tianjin on Wednesday. A further 500 people were injured in the blasts that occurred around midnight in the Binhai New Area of the port city 120 kilometers east of Beijing.

We offer our sincere condolences to the relatives of the dead and our respect to the firefighters who have risked their lives to bring the fire under control.

There were apparently two big explosions at a warehouse for storing hazardous goods followed by a series of smaller ones. The explosions caused a huge fireball and were so violent that residents several kilometers away said they thought it was an earthquake. According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the magnitude of the first explosion was the equivalent of 3 tons of TNT being detonated, while the second was the equivalent of 21 tons.