New explosions shake China chemical-blast site, evacuation ordered

A chemical warehouse destroyed by explosions and a fireball in north-eastern China caught fire again Saturday after a series of fresh blasts, after which police ordered residents within a 3-kilometre radius to evacuate, state media said.

As the death toll in Wednesday's disaster in Tianjin rose to 104, investigators said unregistered containers of highly toxic sodium cyanide were possibly stored at the blast site. Sodium cyanide turns toxic in contact with water, dpa reported.

Further confirmation of the contents of the warehouse was needed, Gao Huaiyou, Tianjin's deputy director of work safety, said at a press conference.

A half-dozen fresh explosions caused new fires to break out at the facility in the port city, a day after authorities had announced the fire was 'basically out.' Volunteers with loudspeakers told residents to leave the area.