Massive explosions have hit China's northern city of Tianjin, leaving at least 17 people dead and hundreds more injured. State media said the blasts happened in a warehouse storing "dangerous and chemical goods" in the port area of the city. Pictures and video on social media showed flames lighting up the sky, and buildings are said to have collapsed. Hospitals are reported to be overwhelmed with casualties. President Xi Jinping has urged "all-out efforts" to rescue victims and contain the fire, Xinhua state news agency said. State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said a shipment of explosives had detonated but this was not confirmed. The first explosion at about 23:30 (15:30 GMT) on Wednesday was followed by another, more powerful blast, seconds later. Shockwaves were felt several kilometres away. BBC Chinese Service editor Raymond Li says all indications are that it was an industrial accident. The China Earthquake Networks Centre said the magnitude of the first explosion was the equivalent of detonating three tons of TNT, while the second was the equivalent of 21 tons of the explosive. Further blasts were subsequently triggered nearby, Xinhua said. CCTV said four firefighters were among the dead and that more than 400 people had been injured, at least 32 of them critically. BBC producer Xinyan Yu, who is in Tianjin, said workers' dormitories were among the buildings destroyed. Grey line John Sudworth, BBC News, Beijing Some of the still photographs being posted online really give a sense of the damage. People are showing internal doors ripped off their hinges and glass is scattered everywhere inside apartments. The most upsetting images are from the surrounding streets and from hospital waiting areas showing some of the injured - parents carrying injured children. Hospitals are clearly struggling to cope with this huge influx of casualties. Grey line Hours later, fires were still burning and 100 fire engines were at the scene, reported CCTV. One witness, named only as Ms Yang, told local media she was out shopping when "suddenly from behind there was a big fireball and explosion". "At the time of the explosion the ground was shaking fiercely, nearby cars and buildings were shaking, glass from a few buildings all broke and everyone started to run," she said. "Now all the residents are gathered in the street." Another witness, Canadian teacher Monica Andrews, told how she woke in panic after what she thought was an earthquake. "I... looked out the window and the sky was red. I just watched a second explosion go off and [it was] just pure chaos, everyone leaving their apartment buildings thinking it's an earthquake, cars trying to leave the complex. It was crazy," she told the BBC. China National Radio said cracks were visible in buildings near the site of the blast. Several tower blocks near the port area are without power, CCTV added. Tianjin, home to some 15 million people, is a major port and industrial area to the south-east of the Chinese capital, Beijing. A massive explosion hit a "dangerous goods" warehouse in Tianjin, China, on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people and leaving emergency services staff trapped in the rubble. The explosion in the Binhai New Area on the city's coast happened at about 11.30pm local time, with videos posted on social media showed a towering inferno above one of China's largest urban areas. Reporting from a blog run from Tianjin's government, Dow Jones newswire said that 13 people were dead, 11 seriously injured and a further 248 hospitalized. The People's Daily newspaper put the toll higher: 17 dead, including three firefighters, 32 in critical condition and 400 injured. As many as eight fire engines were destroyed by the blast. Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered a fast and comprehensive rescue operation, and promised a thorough investigation and severe punishment for any wrongdoing. CCTV and the People's Daily reported that crews of firefighters and rescue teams arrived at the warehouse at about 10.50pm to tackle a fire, and were then trapped by the subsequent blast. Citing the China Earthquake Networks Centre, Dow Jones reported that seismologists had tracked two explosions at about 11.34pm. The second blast was equal to about 21 tons of TNT exploding, while the first was the equivalent of about 3 tons of TNT, according to numerous reports. CCTV said that the blast could be felt miles away from the scene in the port city. Dow Jones reported that the warehouse is used by Ruihai International Logistics, a company that handles hazardous materials, citing a blog run by China's Ministry of Public Security Fire Department. Watch video 3 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc1weOQRYNc

• published: 13 Aug 2015
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