China: Blast at Tianjin warehouse, no casualties reported

A warehouse explosion was reported in China’s Tianjin on Monday, state media said.

A warehouse explosion was reported in China’s Tianjin on Monday, state media said, just two months after a massive blast in the eastern port city left more than 160 dead.

The blast came at a warehouse storing “alcohol materials” in Beichen district’s Xiditou township, official news service Xinhua said.

Police received a report of an explosion at 9.46pm local time (1346 GMT), but the fire had been put out and no casualties had yet been reported, it said.

The explosion became a trending topic on the Sina Weibo social media platform, with users posting what they said were images of the blast. A total of 165 people died as a result of the explosions of August 12 at a hazardous goods storage facility, which devastated a swathe of Tianjin, authorities say, including nearly 100 firefighters.

The explosions and their aftermath raised a host of questions in China about industrial safety, as well as the enforcement of residential zoning regulations, government transparency and the adequacy of firefighter training.