2015 Tianjin Blast Disaster

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First minor explosion
Map of the port of Tianjin

As a result of two explosions in Tianjin in a short period of time on August 12, 2015, 173 people died, including 8 missing people who were officially declared dead. 797 people were injured.

After the fire brigade was called to a fire in a warehouse on the late evening of August 12, at around 11:36 p.m. local time (17:36 CEST ), two detonations occurred in a container warehouse in the district with an interval of about 30 seconds Binhai in Tianjin Port , China . The explosions were perceived as earthquakes with 2.3 and 2.9 on the moment magnitude scale , the resulting cloud of smoke was several hundred meters high; The final investigation report on the catastrophe put the explosive force, which was released in both explosions together, at 450 t TNT.

The reason for the explosions was not immediately known; some reports assumed an accident at work. The state media in China said the first explosion was caused by an unknown, dangerous material in shipping containers. These would have been in a warehouse owned by Ruihai Logistics Co Ltd. found, a company specializing in the transport of dangerous goods.

course

Eyewitnesses reported that about 40 minutes before the disaster, around 10:50 p.m. local time, firefighters were called to the warehouse. A firefighter reported that several containers and an area of ​​around 70 square meters were on fire when he arrived. The flames were about 10 m high. It was immediately started to fight the fire with water. Firefighters came within 30 m of the fire. The first of the two explosions then occurred at around 11:36 pm; the second, much stronger, followed about 30 seconds later. Early reports suggest that the pressure wave would have been felt for several kilometers.

Up to 1,000 firefighters were on duty to bring the fire under control. Soldiers were ordered to Tianjin to set up tents and clear roads. About 200 soldiers trained in dealing with nuclear, biological and chemical accidents were deployed to investigate the scene of the accident and to clean up. On August 13, there were still minor explosions, and not all fires had been extinguished.

According to the authorities, the focus was not initially on investigating the accident, but on attempts to extinguish the fires and rescue and treatment of the injured. At 6:00 p.m. local time on August 14, the fire was "essentially out" but on August 15, at 11:40 a.m. local time, further explosions were heard and fires started again.

Place of disaster

2012 Tianjin Port Container Logistics Center map from unknown source

The explosions took place in the " Tianjin Port Container Logistics Center " in the Beijiang Port of Tianjin in the area between Qiyun First Street, Qiyun Second Street and Yuejin Road (the area is titled "Zhongchu Holdings" on the map), approximate coordinates (satellite mode): 39 ° 2 '22.9 "  N , 117 ° 44' 12.3"  O .

Personal injury and property damage

Personal injury

The state media in China reported shortly after the explosions that between 300 and 700 people were hospitalized, many of whom were injured by burns and the effects of the shock wave. On August 13, the number of people admitted to hospitals was estimated at 701; 71 of them were in mortal danger.

Early reports had spoken of at least 17 dead and 32 injured. The number of deaths rose to 44 on August 13, later to 50. At a press conference on August 13, local authorities confirmed that 66 soldiers who were deployed to fight the fire needed medical care. During August 13, testimony emerged stating that of 200 rescue workers deployed at the source of the explosion, only four survived.

A firefighter's helmet and the door of a fire engine damaged in the explosion

A firefighter who lost consciousness in the first explosion was saved alive after more than 30 hours. Another man was saved alive on the afternoon of August 15th. A total of 46 people had been rescued from the scene of the accident by the afternoon of August 15.

The number of deaths was set at 173 on September 12, 2015. 99 firefighters, 11 police officers and 55 civilians are among the dead. Authorities said they had stopped searching for eight people missing at the time, including five firefighters, and that there was no hope of finding them. Accordingly, official death declarations would be issued at the request of the families. There were 797 injured. Of the firefighters killed, at least 24 worked for the Tianjin State Fire Department and 75 worked as firefighters for the Tianjin Port.

Property damage

Destroyed car in the area

On August 13, 3,000 people were accommodated in emergency shelters in schools and tent cities because their apartments were not accessible. The local government expected that number to double on the night of August 14th. On August 15, it was said that 6,300 residents of the affected area had been housed in 12 emergency accommodation camps that had been set up in nearby schools. The number of evacuees in the emergency shelters fell to 496 by August 17. On August 25, 95 people were still in an emergency shelter in a school, the other evacuees found shelter in other places.

The authorities said that 17,000 homes, 1,700 businesses and 675 businesses were affected by the disaster. The buildings of seven logistics companies were destroyed. By August 25, 223 companies had resumed operations after being interrupted by the damage caused by the disaster. 140 other companies are still preparing for operation.

12 apartment blocks that were affected by the explosion were examined by structural engineers. Eleven of the blocks have no problems with building safety, only in one block, in which a fire broke out in an apartment, major work is necessary, which does not endanger the building as a whole.

The Tianhe-1A supercomputer was shut down for half an hour after the building in which it stands was damaged.

A S-Bahn station and a S-Bahn train were damaged in the Binhai New Area, approximately one kilometer from the site of the explosions. The S-Bahn traffic was partially discontinued and a replacement bus service was set up. Rail traffic was restarted on December 16, 2015. Donghailu train station, which is only about 100 m from the site of the accident and which was destroyed in the explosion, is to be rebuilt on the same site by February 2017.

Around 8,000 cars worth $ 630 million were destroyed in the explosion. Jaguar Land Rover said that around 5800 vehicles of its brands were affected. Since the scene of the accident is closed, it was not yet possible to give precise details. The cars had only come from Great Britain shortly before the accident. The automobile company Jeep stated that 2,000 vehicles were destroyed as a result of the explosion and that a further 1,300 vehicles were handed over to the insurance company after the insurance sum was paid. Other vehicles were not directly affected by the explosion, but were subsequently affected by the precipitation in the open air. In April 2016, there was a public discussion about what would happen to the vehicles affected by the explosion. All vehicles not paid for by the insurance company should be sold after thorough cleaning with the express indication that they came from the vicinity of the explosion. However, vehicles apparently from the insurance portfolio have also been put on the market that Jeep says it has expressly forbidden to sell. A trade in individual parts of these vehicles was not excluded and it was admitted by sellers that they had secured the approval of these vehicles and thus their sale through relationships with the registration authorities.

Initial estimates assumed an insured loss of up to 1.5 billion US dollars. The final investigation report on the course of the disaster puts the number of damaged buildings at 304 and the number of cars destroyed at 12428. A further 7533 containers were damaged. The total damage amounts to 6.87 billion RMB (about 1.1 billion US dollars).

Chemical exposure at the scene of the accident

Around 3,000 tons of highly hazardous chemicals were stored in the port area, including:

Various media reported increased concentrations of carbon monoxide , sulfur dioxide , nitrogen oxides , ethylene oxide , trichloromethane and toluene in the area.

The Chinese government said that the permissible limit values ​​in the air had only been exceeded for some pollutants - but these were also constantly decreasing, it said on August 14.

The formation of the highly flammable gas ethine (acetylene) through the contact of stored calcium carbide with extinguishing water was named as a possible cause of the explosion . Since the company documents were destroyed in the disaster, the statements of company managers and papers from the customs authorities should provide clarification about the inventory, which leads to considerable differences in the information. Gao Huaiyou, the deputy head of the Tianjin Occupational Safety and Health Bureau, said at a press conference on Aug. 15 that there may be sodium cyanide among the chemicals, but that some containers are still closed and others are not registered. He gave no information about reports in the local media about 700 tons of sodium cyanide and whether it was affected by the explosion, but referred to ongoing investigations.

In the course of August 15, the responsible authorities evacuated the area within a three-kilometer radius after sodium cyanide was found at the site of the explosion and there were fears that poisonous fumes could spread to inhabited areas when the wind changed. Significantly increased cyanide levels were found in two sewers near the site of the accident. The authorities are blocking further water drainage and treating the polluted water to counteract environmental damage.

He Shushan, the deputy mayor of Tianjin, announced that all sodium cyanide would be removed from the site by the evening of August 17th local time. One out of 17 air monitoring stations reported a 0.08% increase in sodium cyanide, and three out of 17 water monitoring stations reported increases of 27.4-fold, 4.37-fold and 0.96-fold, respectively the normal value in the wastewater of the accident site. On the morning of August 18, it was announced that 40 monitoring stations had checked the water in and around the site of the accident. At one station within the site of the accident, the values ​​for cyanide that were considered harmless were exceeded 28 times. Eight stations registered that the limit values ​​were exceeded, while all 14 stations outside the explosion area reported no abnormalities. 277 times the permitted amount of hydrocyanic acid was measured on a sewer pipe. The air values ​​in the entire area were harmless. In the buildings affected by the explosion, no cyanide contamination could be found, the concentration of volatile organic compounds was increased, but was not a cause for concern, it said.

The Chinese media speculated about the leakage of nerve gas at the scene of the accident. Experts stated that the occurrence of nerve gas is impossible because it cannot easily arise. Images were also circulated on the Internet of white foam on the floor around the site of the accident, which caused concern after it rained in Tianjin. Samples of the foam did not contain any traces of cyanide, explained those responsible. No cyanide was found in the rain that fell within seven kilometers of the site of the accident. The clean-up work was briefly interrupted on August 19 for safety reasons due to rain. In the future, the results of the monitoring stations were published every two hours under pressure from the public and no longer just once a day, a breaking news story was still announced if abnormal values ​​were found, according to a press conference on August 19. Deputy Mayor He Shushan announced on the same spot that there is still a large amount of hazardous chemicals on the site and that it is difficult to foresee when the clean-up will end. By the afternoon of August 19, 150 tons of sodium cyanide had been recovered from the site of the accident.

There is great concern among the people of Tianjin about possible environmental damage. On August 20, pictures of a mass death of fish in the Hai River, believed to be related to chemical leakage, were spread on social networks . The authorities could not find traces of chemicals in the section of the river about six kilometers from the accident site that afternoon, but initiated further investigations into the cause and cited oxygen starvation as the cause the day after the mass extinction.

On August 23, it was announced that "for a few days" they have been investigating more and more water and air for cyanide. Cyanide could be detected in the soil within a radius of five kilometers from the accident site, but none of the 16 out of 73 samples affected were above the permissible limit, it said. In the case of water samples in the area of ​​the accident site, cyanide contamination of up to 54.6 times the national standard was detected at seven of the 26 sampling points. No cyanide was found in the water outside of the immediate disaster area. On September 22, the last 700 cubic meters of chemical-contaminated water at the site of the accident were pumped out of a several meters deep hole that had been torn by the explosion. The soil of the disaster area should continue to be examined more intensively for pollution.

In February 2016, the final investigation report stated that there was no longer any pollution of the air in the vicinity of the accident site and that the polluted surface water had been disposed of in accordance with regulations. However, the authorities are still busy cleaning groundwater and soil in the immediate vicinity of the explosion.

The administration of Tianjin has arranged for a special health monitoring of all residents in the vicinity of the accident site, the disaster relief workers including all injured persons.

Searching for causes and investigations against those responsible

After the Chinese Supreme People's Procuratorate opened an investigation, a few days after the accident, chief executive Yu Xuwei, his deputy Dong Shexuan, nine other Ruihai Logistics employees and one employee were arrested. An employee of a company that prepared a safety report for the transport company was also arrested. The accusation was of illegal storage of dangerous goods. Zhi Feng, the general manager of Ruihai Logistics, and his deputy Shang Qingsen have been placed under house arrest.

The Xinhua news agency was able to reveal the ownership structure of the company concerned. Li Liang is officially listed as the main owner with 55% of the shares, but he is just a straw man for his cousin Yu Xuewei, the former deputy head of the state-owned oil company Sinochem Group in Tianjin. The remaining 45% belong to Dong Shexuan, the son of the former Tianjin Police Chief. For Dong, his former classmate Shu Zheng acted as a straw man, which Dong excused with the fame of his father, which would otherwise cause him to fear problems, especially since his father, who died in 2014, was also suspected of corruption.

Yu and Dong decided to start a logistics company in November 2012 after they met over dinner. Dong is said to have had good relationships with the fire brigade and police, while Yu had good relationships in the area of ​​work safety and environmental protection. With their relationships, they should have secured the appropriate papers for building the company. Dong explained that his " guanxi " (roughly in German: relationships) had helped him with the regular procurement of papers for the fire safety inspection, since he only had to go to the responsible offices and then got the relevant papers. Dong did not provide any information on whether the bribery had occurred or not.

An initial report on the safety of operations at this location was negative, but Dong stated that Yu had commissioned a second report from a new company, which then certified it to be harmless. The head of the planning office for the company's headquarters stated that all the papers that were presented to him were unproblematic and that the settlement was approved accordingly. The manager of the company was Zhi Feng, who had worked for Yu at Sinochem. It also became known that a report on the company's environmental impact, contrary to the regulations, was not published.

Between October 2014 and June 2015 the company did not have a permit to work with dangerous goods. Yu explained that this did not seem necessary to him because his other companies did not always have the appropriate licenses.

On August 27, 2015, the Supreme People's Procuratorate opened an official investigation into Tianjin officials who are held responsible for the explosion. Wu Dai, the head of the Tianjin Municipal Transportation Commission, Zheng Qingyue, the president of Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd., the deputy head of the occupational safety agency, and Tianjin Customs officials remained at large against strict conditions. Specifically, customs employees are accused of having issued unauthorized customs certificates for the chemicals. The other people are accused of neglecting their official duties, which enabled them to run the dangerous and illegal operation of Ruihai Logistics and are therefore responsible for the disaster. Wang Jinwen, a senior official in the Department of Transportation, was also involved in the investigation and charged with abuse of power. Wang is said to have helped Ruihai Logistics pass the security checks and obtain permits to handle hazardous materials.

A representative from the prosecutor said the investigation would be carried out in three steps. First, examine the role of the 11 suspected officers. Then one would look into the search for the causes of the explosion and involve all those responsible in the investigation. Thirdly, the possibility of corruption will be examined.

In addition to 22 people from the company and the city administration already affected by the public prosecutor's investigation, in January 2016 the public prosecutor opened further proceedings against 25 people for neglecting their duties and abuse of office in connection with the disaster.

By January 2016, a total of 49 people had been affected in various ways by official investigations and the associated detention or other conditions. The commission of inquiry into the accident recommended that a total of 123 people must answer for the disaster. Among those responsible are five people at ministerial level. Of those responsible, 74 people are reported to answer for disciplinary violations before the relevant investigative commission of the Chinese Communist Party, while 48 have to explain themselves to their local disciplinary commission. One responsible person died of natural causes in the course of the investigation. It was judged that corruption, mismanagement and inadequate regulatory controls contributed to the disaster.

According to the public prosecutor's office, 25 people will still have to answer in court. The suspects include two department heads and seven deputy department heads. They are accused of neglecting their duties, abuse of office and corruption.

The final investigation report on the causes of the catastrophe recommends that Ruihai Logistics' operating license be withdrawn and that senior employees be banned from performing management tasks in the future.

Criminal law processing

Between November 7 and 9, 2016, criminal trials against those arrested in connection with the disaster took place before the Second Intermediate People's Court and nine other courts in Tianjin. A total of 49 people were convicted; 24 people were executives in the Ruihai Logistics company or its employees or private companies commissioned by Ruihai Logistics, and 25 were employed by various government agencies.

The defendants have been convicted of a number of offenses. Ruihai Logistics chief executive Yu Xuewei was found guilty of bribing Port Authority officials with RMB 157,500 in cash or in kind to obtain permission to handle dangerous goods. Yu was also found guilty of illegal storage of dangerous goods, illegal operation of a business, responsibility for accidents involving dangerous goods, and other bribery. He was sentenced to death and suspended for two years in custody. He also has to pay a fine of 700,000 RMB. The deputy chairman of the board and manager of Ruihai Logistics and three other employees of the company were given prison terms ranging from 15 years to life.

Government officials, including Wu Dai, the head of the Tianjin Municipal Transportation Commission, the head of the port company and the head of the customs authority, were sentenced to three to seven years' imprisonment for neglect of official duties, abuse of office and taking bribes.

The court found that the evaluation by an independent authority, in this case the Tianjin Zhongbin Haisheng Safety Evaluation Company, which was intended as a safety level, had failed and that the latter was also guilty of the disaster, as this company had issued a certificate despite better knowledge. that identified the storage of dangerous goods as unproblematic on the affected company premises. The company had made the appraisal for 50,000 RMB. The chairman and manager, as well as nine other employees, were sentenced to between 18 months and four years in prison for issuing forged papers.

All of the defendants accepted the verdicts and expressed remorse at what had happened.

In September 2017, Huang Xingguo, the acting mayor and chairman of the Disaster Relief Committee at the time of the explosion, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption.

Further consequences

The minister for labor protection investigating the accident and a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party , Yang Dongliang , was released from his duties a few days after the accident for "serious violation of discipline and law". The Communist Party Disciplinary Commission opened an investigation. Yang was the deputy mayor of Tianjin from 2001 to May 2012, and prior to that he worked in various state-owned companies in the city.

Final report on the cause of the accident

The investigation report presented in February 2016 on the causes of the disaster came to the conclusion that the self-ignition of cellulose nitrate (gun cotton), caused by the drying out of the moisturizer as a result of high air temperatures, was responsible for the accident. The resulting fire spread to other chemicals, including ammonium nitrate.

The technical head of the investigation commission described the 800 tons of ammonium nitrate as the cause of the disaster. The chemical should not have been kept in the warehouse. The employees did not inform the incoming fire brigade about the stored materials, so the operations management could not react appropriately to the dangerous situation.

The investigation of the administrative decisions showed that appraisers of the company issued false certificates. The location was therefore not suitable for handling dangerous goods and the safety equipment was also judged to be appropriate without any real assessment.

The company Ruihai International Logicstics had set up and operated an unauthorized warehouse for dangerous goods and took inadequate security measures, the investigation report found.

The disaster is classified as an extremely serious occupational safety accident.

The investigating commission accuses the deputy chief executive of Ruihai International Logistics Dong Shexuan, who has already been taken into custody, that he, as the son of the former head of the highest local police authority, the Public Security Bureau , did not take advantage of his father's position in the port of Tianjin to operate an approved dangerous goods warehouse for a long time without a permit. No family relationships with civil servants could be established for other executives.

The board's chairman Yu Xuewei, who is also already in custody, is accused by the commission of using various bribery methods to induce port officials to issue necessary papers for the dangerous goods warehouse.

Compensation for those affected and reconstruction plans

State-owned housing associations Tianjin Real Estate Group Co., Ltd, Teda Investment Holding Co., Ltd, Tianjin Hi-tech Holding Group Co., Ltd, Tianjin T&B Holding Co., Ltd and Tianjin residential construction development group Co., Ltd. were the first to announce that they would buy the apartments damaged in the explosions from owners who wanted to. The number of companies involved increased to eight by August 27, including China Vanke Co Ltd, China's largest real estate company. The companies are planning to resell the apartments after extensive redevelopment of the entire area, in which much more green spaces are to be created. The future storage of chemicals in the vicinity of the residential complexes was expressly excluded.

The housing associations said they would buy the apartments at a price above the market price before the explosion and that the sellers could also claim compensation. An independent agency is supposed to determine the market value before the explosion. Buyers of new buildings that have not yet been occupied should receive a “relocation bonus” in addition to the purchase price if they do not use the apartments. For those homeowners who do not want to sell their homes, the Tianjin government pays the renovation costs.

The purchase price for the apartments was set in September 2015 at 1.3 times the market value. If you don't want to sell your apartment and renovate it, you will receive compensation of 16% of the original purchase price of the apartment in addition to these costs. The average price per square meter in the affected area is given as 11,000 RMB. That means an average purchase price of 14,300 RMB per square meter. An amount of RMB 20,000 was offered to all those affected who signed their indemnity agreement by September 6th, which by September 3rd had done 9420 or just over half of those affected.

On September 13, it was announced that the company Fangda Real Estate Appraisal Company had been appointed to estimate the value and condition of the damaged apartments and to make recommendations for sale or renovation. The district government announced on September 21st that the contracted company had set the purchase price per square meter between 10,582 RMB and 14,271 RMB, depending on the apartment. Then there is the already announced compensation with 30% of the purchase price above the market value.

Local authorities announced that a memorial is to be erected at the site of the accident to commemorate the victims of the disaster. The monument is to be built in a park that the authorities have described as an "eco-park". Drafts for the park showed a lake at the site of the explosion crater. The park is part of a development project for the area that also includes kindergartens and schools. In addition, 5000 apartments are to be built for those affected.

Chinese Internet users commented on the plan to build an “eco-park” at the site of the explosion with rejection, as they suspected that the affected area would remain chemically contaminated for a long time. The Tianjin City Council announced on September 16, 2015 that a reprocessing plant for the soil in the area affected by the explosion had been approved and that, since the containers had been cleared, it would be operational at short notice. Chemically contaminated soil should be removed and treated according to regulations, while all non-contaminated residues such as building rubble should be recycled.

Repair work on the damaged apartments is slated to begin on September 14th so that residents can return to their homes before the start of winter.

The families of the killed firefighters received a sum of 2.3 million RMB as pension payments. Those killed were declared "martyrs". Twenty-four firefighters who were found dead by September 12 and who worked for the Tianjin State Fire Department were posthumously awarded a gold medal for services to national defense.

On September 27, 2015, it was announced that appropriate measures had been taken to claim the costs of compensation for the victims from the owners of Ruihai Logistics Co Ltd., in whose warehouse the starting point of the disaster was located.

Reactions

Official reactions

CCTV reported that President Xi Jinping was working to ensure that all victims were saved and all fires were put out.

According to a US China expert who is in contact with very high-ranking Chinese politicians, Xi Jinping is said to have called a meeting of his closest confidants after the explosion and discussed the question of whether there was a political cause for the disaster. The strength of the explosion led Xi to investigate whether ammunition from the army had been stored there with or without the knowledge of the company concerned. Since the disaster occurred three weeks before the military parade in Beijing marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, which is seen as a decisive step in consolidating Xi's power, Xi wanted to know whether dissatisfied military leaders with him had orchestrated the explosion. The port of Tianjin is an established hub for arms and ammunition for the Chinese army and arms manufacturers.

Xi is said to have focused in particular on relations with Generals Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong, who were dismissed from office in 2014 for corruption and were on trial. There is said to be a group of high-ranking officers who are dissatisfied with this step. The military circles concerned are also said to have a relationship with Jiang Zemin , who is said to be engaged in a power struggle with Xi Jinping behind the scenes.

Another question that moved Xi was about the political background of the Ruihai company, which was unable to secure a license to handle dangerous goods without political backing. However, appropriate research showed that at least for him important locally influential opponents of Jiang Zemin had no relations with the company and they could therefore continue to be seen as his supporters.

The fixation on the suspicion of a conspiracy against the current rulers is said to have prevented a high-ranking national politician from visiting the scene of the accident earlier than Prime Minister Li Keqiang did on the fifth day.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited the scene of the accident on August 16 . He found out about the progress of the work at the explosion site, met injured and evacuated people and honored the dead firefighters. He stated that the regulations on handling dangerous substances would be revised. He promised to punish the guilty and offered compensation to the families of all the firefighters killed. According to him, information about the accident should be passed on to the public without delay.

On September 22nd, 2015, Li Keqiang was briefed on the progress of the investigation. He then stated that the authorities had established in a preliminary report on the causes that corruption and neglect of duty had contributed to the accident. He announced a complete clarification of the events and promised to punish all those responsible regardless of their position, emphasizing corruption and negligence as particularly punishable. The authorities were asked to accelerate the investigation of the causes of the disaster.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond , who was in China at the time of the disaster and had visited the city just hours before the incident, expressed his condolences to the victims of the disaster. The United States Ambassador to China Max Baucus and his wife, Russian President Vladimir Putin , the European Union and the US State Department also expressed their condolences to the victims and their families. Lee Hsien Loong , the Prime Minister of Singapore, wrote on the social network Facebook that he condoled the relatives and at the same time assured them that no Singaporean had been injured.

Huang Xingguo, mayor of Tianjin City, said the city was ultimately responsible for the loss of life and property damage that had been caused, and expressed his condolences for the bereaved.

Discussion in the media and on the internet

Reports by journalists were allegedly suppressed by the Chinese government. Passers-by and reporters had to move about one to two kilometers from the site of the explosion. Users of the Weibo social network reported that their posts about the accident would be deleted. The Chinese Internet Authority said that 160 user accounts had been permanently blocked and 200 user accounts had been blocked temporarily for Sina Weibo and WeChat because of rumors about them about what was going on in Tianjin. By August 15, 50 websites had been reprimanded by the Internet Authority for disclosing unverified information and allowing users to spread rumors. 32 websites were closed as a result, 18 websites were revoked.

The Global Times newspaper published an article on August 17 that criticized the Tianjin authorities' dealings with the press. It was pointed out that the press conferences were initially held solely by members of the press department, while senior officials did not show themselves. The newspaper described it as a necessity that, in the Internet age, the management of major events also depends on credibly informing the public, otherwise the reputation of the state would suffer.

In the meantime, the question of whether the real people responsible for the disaster were arrested and whether the people involved in corruption would also be held accountable was being raised in the social networks of China.

The Ministry of Public Security announced on August 30th that 197 Internet users had been fined for spreading rumors and 165 user accounts had been closed as part of a special campaign. It was said on the Internet that at least 1,300 people had been killed in relation to the explosion in Tianjin. The ministry called on Internet providers to regulate the network more strongly themselves.

The large number of firefighters killed, probably the largest in China since 1949, sparked a public debate as to whether the emergency services knew what kind of fire they were being called to and whether they were prepared for it. The Tianjin Fire Department said the firefighters had no idea what had caught fire and that the (first) explosion happened unexpectedly, leaving them with no time to rescue themselves.

Measures against further chemical accidents

There is great concern among the people of Tianjin about possible environmental damage. On August 20, pictures of a mass death of fish in the Hai River, believed to be related to chemical leakage, were spread on social networks . The authorities could not find any traces of chemicals in the section of the river about six kilometers from the accident site that afternoon, but initiated further investigations into the cause and cited oxygen starvation as the cause the day after the mass extinction.

Chinese Industry Minister Miao Wei said that local authorities across China presented plans in August 2015 to either modernize or relocate factories that use chemicals. Miao said this was a venture that began a year ago, but that had little response until the explosion in Tianjin. The cost of this measure is estimated at around 400 billion RMB (around 50 billion euros), which is to be borne by the companies and the local authorities and to a small extent by the central government. A nationwide inspection of companies that handle dangerous goods, which was initiated as a result of the explosion, found breaches of safety regulations such as housing estates in the immediate vicinity or insufficient access to fire brigade and extinguishing water at 80 locations. The local authorities have been made responsible for ensuring that safety regulations are followed immediately.

Immediately after the accident, Tianjin City arranged for a security clearance of 275 companies with dangerous goods. Seventy companies were found to have such serious security deficiencies that they were banned from operating. A comprehensive safety investigation of 583 companies in the Binhai District that produce, transport or handle dangerous goods in the port of Tianjin has found that 85 companies in this area will cease operations. Nine companies have been fined for violations, ten companies will relocate and 66 have reached an agreement with the government to reorganize their business. An exact record of the risk potential of 309 companies in the district is also already available; this should be expanded to 379 companies by the end of 2016. For the relocation of two chemical companies, which have been classified as an environmental hazard and a hazard to local residents at their current location, the city has calculated costs of 29 billion RMB in 2016.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has decided to change the legal regulations regarding air pollution. The amendment to the law requires that the air values ​​as measured after the explosions in Tianjin must be published.

Reactions from affected residents

On August 27, 2015, about 500 people whose homes were damaged in the blasts gathered in front of Tianjin City Government and demanded that the authorities buy the homes and compensate them for the damage. When clashes broke out between demonstrators and the police around noon, 12 people were taken away by the police. Meanwhile, the city government announced on August 27th that it would pay monthly compensation of RMB 2000 for some of the victims.

Affected residents said they were disappointed with the offer to buy the apartments. They complained that they could not get an apartment of the same quality at the price offered. An apartment of the same quality in the same borough traded at an average of RMB 15,000 per square meter in early September 2015, above the bid for the damaged apartments of RMB 14,300 per square meter, real estate agents said. The government offered those affected by government housing at a price of RMB 6,800 to 8,800 per square meter in the neighborhood of the disaster area. However, the apartment owners were dissatisfied with the low quality of the apartments on offer.

Others

Chinese photographer Chen Jie won third prize in the General News category of the 2016 World Press Photo competition for his aerial photo of the accident site .

See also

Web links

Commons : Explosion in Tianjin 2015  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

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Coordinates: 39 ° 2 ′ 19 ″  N , 117 ° 44 ′ 13 ″  E