Around 44 people have been killed and more than 500 injured in two explosions which took place in the port city of Tianjin, China on Wednesday August 12, according to the BBC.
The cause of the accident is currently unknown but is said to have occurred after a shipment of explosives had detonated.
Reuters reported Xinhua news agency as saying: “The volatility of the goods means the fire is especially unpredictable and dangerous to approach.
President Xi Jinping has demanded that authorities “make full effort to rescue and treat the injured and ensure the safety of people and their property.”
The China Earthquake Networks Centre said that the magnitude of the first explosion was the equivalent of three tonnes of TNT being detonated, with the second at 21 tonnes of TNT.
The explosions were so strong that they could be felt in apartment blocks kilometres away in the port city, where an estimated 15 million people live.
12 fire-fighters were among the dead and 66 are currently in critical condition.
See below for a video of the explosion:
(Source: Battlefield Sources / YouTube)
