Authorities lose contact with 36 firefighters at site

Ben Bassey 09:19 - 13 August 2015

Authorities lose contact with 36 firefighters at China blast site - media

The blast killed at least 17 people, injured as many as 400 and sparked panic across much of the city of 15 million people, official Chinese media reported.

Authorities have lost contact with 36 firefighters at the scene of two massive explosions that ripped through an industrial area in the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin overnight, the Beijing News cited Tianjin fire officials as saying on Thursday.

Firefighting efforts at China's warehouse explosion site have been suspended due to lack of clarity about the contents and amount of the "dangerous goods" in the warehouse, according to a local government statement on Thursday.