The Slatest

At Least 50 Dead in Chinese Port Explosion

New cars damaged in the Tianjin explosion.

Damir Sagolj/Reuters

At least 50 people have died and 71 more are in critical condition after Wednesday’s enormous explosions in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, CNN reports via Chinese state-run media. Two major explosions took place, the second larger than the first, and the exact cause of the disaster is still unknown. From CNN:

The explosions originated at a warehouse site owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd., a company that stores and transports dangerous chemicals. Company executives have been taken into custody, state media said.

Tianjin is roughly 80 miles southeast of Beijing and has a population of 13 million. A resident who lives more than a kilometer from the explosion site told CNN his apartment was hit hard by the shock wave from the blast: “It blew out the glass, it blew out the doors, it knocked out the power,” he said. More than 700 people in the city have been reported injured in total.