2015 Tianjin Explosions
Submission 12,699
Overview
Tianjin Chemical Warehouse Explosion were large detonations that occurred at a storage container station at the Port of Tianjin in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, China in mid August 2015.
Background
On August 12th, 2015, a warehouse building owned by the logistics company Ruihai Logistics, a facility known to house hazardous chemicals, erupted with at least two explosions, the second of which caused an enormous shockwave across the surrounding area. The exact cause of the explosion is unknown, but experts have speculated that the explosion was initially ignited by an acetylene blast that subsequently detonated a large amount of ammonium nitrate.[10] As of August 14th, the Tianjin government has reported more than 50 deaths and 700 injuries from the blasts.[4] In the aftermath of the explosion, thousands of people were left homeless following the destruction of surrounding buildings.
Notable Developments
Online Reaction
In the coming days, several amateur video recordings of the incident were uploaded to YouTube, many of which reached the frontpage of Reddit (shown below).[11][12][13][14][15][16] Additionally, Imgur[3] user PizzaThrowingWalterWhite posted a gallery of images and information regarding the explosions According to the Twitter analytics site Topsy,[1] the keyword "tianjin"[2] was tweeted over 133,000 times in the first 48 hours.
Search Interest
External References
[3] Imgur β Tianjin Explosion
[4] Reuters β Update 11 β Huge blasts at Chinese port kill 50 injure more than 700
[5] CNN β Tianjin explosion
[6] The New York Times β As Fire Smolders in Tianjin
[7] BBC β China explosions
[8] The Guardian β Tianjin explosions
[9] Reuters β China defends initial response
[10] BBC β What we know about the Tianjin explosion
[11] Reddit β Huge Explosion in Tianjin China
[12] Reddit β Extremely Close POV of Massive Explosion
[13] Reddit β Massive Explosion in Tianjin
[14] Reddit β Without a question the best video of the Tianjin explosion
[15] Reddit β Six Different Angles from the Tianjin Explosion
[16] Reddit β Close Dashcam Footrage of the Tianjin Explosion
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