Good lawd! Look at this explosion in Tianjin a few minutes ago.

[Are_grits_groceries]

New link:

Whoa!

[sharp_stick]

1. What the hell was that? n/t

[Are_grits_groceries]

2. No more info yet. nt

[sharp_stick]

3. The thing that amazed me the most

was the shockwave when it hit those guys and they were a long ways off.

That is not good.

[Are_grits_groceries]

4. Some say chemical plant. Others oil refinery.

Another video:http://video.weibo.com/show?fid=1034:4ff7b8486550327f41331dab28ec8f9a

CCTV says gas or oil.
#Tianjin is a port city in northeastern China and the fourth largest city. It’s unclear what caused the explosion.

[Warpy]

10. Chemical plant making paraxylene

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/07/asia/china-chemical-plant-explosion/

[Are_grits_groceries]

11. Apparently explosions at those plants are a problem.

Paraxylene (PX)
Paraxylene (PX) is a chemical essential to the process of manufacturing plastic bottles and polyester clothing which is dangerous if inhaled or if absorbed through skin, causing different degrees of damage to abdominal organs and the nervous system. China is the world’s largest PX producer and consumer as of 2010. Safety concerns over PX factories have prompted environmental protests in China.

[Warpy]

13. Yeah, it's nasty stuff, highly carcinogenic and explosive

so the plant has always been called "controversial."

It has also exploded before.

[Cal Carpenter]

12. That link is from april

I'm confused. Did this just happen?

[drm604]

15. I think that link is about a different explosion.

The Youtube video was posted today. Of course someone could have just posted or reposted a video from April.

[BooScout]

19. yes

The plant has had explosions before as well..

[Cal Carpenter]

20. The explosion at the link is in a very different city in another part of China

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I'm still confused about the connection to the link. As far as I've seen, the type of plant today's explosion is is not confirmed but maybe it is the same kind?

[BooScout]

21. I stand corrected....was reading twitter....update inside

State Newspaper Daily is now reporting it was explosive material in a container at a terminal in the Binhai district.....no link.

[Are_grits_groceries]

22. I posted a link that was shared.

I just reposted another link fom today's explosion.

[Cal Carpenter]

23. I wasn't referring to a link you posted

I was replying to someone else.

No worries either way. Just curious about all this - I'm sure more details are emerging as I type...

[BooScout]

24. You should put up a thread in LBN....nt

[malaise]

27. Damn!!

Hope casualties are limited

[Are_grits_groceries]

29. Reports are 1000 injured.

I'll bet it's a lot more than that.

[malaise]

35. Seven persons died, hundreds injured

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/12/explosion-chinese-port-city-tianjin
<snip>
Hundreds of people have been injured and at least seven killed after a series of devastating blasts sent a fireball hundreds of metres into the air at an industrial port in northern China.

A shipment of “dangerous goods” in a warehouse went up in flames shortly before midnight local time (0500 GMT), state media reported, causing explosions so strong that they shook homes on the other side of the city and sent flaming debris arching over nearby high-rise buildings.

Hundreds of injured people crowded into hospitals, arriving on foot and by car after emergency services were overwhelmed.

“When the first explosion happened, it felt like a earthquake,” said Chen Bingzhi, who lives about 4km from the explosion site. “The whole building was shaking. I live on the fifth floor and all the windows are broken.”

[closeupready]

5. wow.

[Rex]

6. WTF!? Are those skyscrapers? If so that fireball is like a dropped MOAB.

Wow! I wonder what it was? Refinery perhaps?

[Are_grits_groceries]

8. That is the latest supposition. nt

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. Injured:

@mpoppel: Unknown number of injured taken to nearby hospital after massive explosion in China's Tianjin - state-run news agency

[BooScout]

9. Holy crap!

[drm604]

14. There have to be casualties.

How awful!

[BooScout]

16. Twitter is saying chemical complex n/t

[LittleBlue]

17. Mushroom cloud

Not good. Must have been a refinery or something.

[sarisataka]

18. Damn

[jonno99]

26. me too...nt

[benld74]

25. Never ceases to amaze me explosions, lightning/thunder

the sight of them reaches you THEN the sound!

[jberryhill]

28. more video

[thecrow]

30. My question is:

...what caused the photographer to turn his camera in that spot just before the explosion...?
Does anyone speak Chinese here?
I would love to know what he is saying.

[Are_grits_groceries]

31. It isn't apparent in some videos.

A few caught it at the beginning. In those, it is a very small fire on the horizon. People probably started taping but didn't expect the whole load they got. When it started, it was no big deal.

[DUgosh]

32. It's the shock wave

N/t

[Oilwellian]

34. In the beginning of the video

you can see a smaller fire, right before the explosion. That's probably what he was focused on first.

[thecrow]

36. Thanks, all

[Dems to Win]

33. There's an LNG terminal in Tianjin

Seems pretty obvious that it blew up, whether it was the source of the explosion or one of the secondary explosions.

This is why people protest LNG. (liquified natural gas)

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. wasn't sure if this was being discussed in DU. glad it is

Heartbreaking. So many dead. Makes you appreciate USA safety standards