"At Least 50 Dead as Huge Warehouse Blasts Hit Chinese Port"

"Huge, fiery blasts at a warehouse for hazardous chemicals killed at least 50 people and turned nearby buildings into skeletal shells in the Chinese port of Tianjin, raising questions Thursday about whether the materials had been properly stored.

Hundreds of people were injured in the explosions shortly before midnight Wednesday, which sent out massive fireballs that turned the night sky into day and shattered windows several kilometers (miles) away. Twelve of the dead were from among the more than 1,000 firefighters sent to the mostly industrial zone to fight the ensuing blaze.

'I thought it was an earthquake, so I rushed downstairs without my shoes on,' said Tianjin resident Zhang Siyu, whose home is several kilometers (miles) from the blast site. 'Only once I was outside did I realize it was an explosion. There was the huge fireball in the sky with thick clouds. Everybody could see it.'"

Christopher Bodeen reports for the Associated Press August 13, 2015.