© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Toll At 112 In Aftermath Of China Blast; Nearly 100 Missing

Chinese firefighters collect lunch as they wait near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality on Saturday. Officials say that 85 firefighters are among the nearly 100 people still missing from the blasts.
Ng Han Guan
/
AP
Chinese firefighters collect lunch as they wait near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality on Saturday. Officials say that 85 firefighters are among the nearly 100 people still missing from the blasts.

More bodies were pulled from the wreckage of last week's industrial explosion southeast of Beijing, raising the official death toll to 112, even as nearly 100 others were still missing, officials said.

Chinese authorities said that 85 of the 95 people unaccounted for were firefighters who responded to Wednesday's massive explosions at a warehouse housing hazardous chemicals.

Meanwhile, the official Xinhua news agency reports that 50 websites had been shut down for "creating panic by publishing unverified information" about the accident.

According to The Associated Press:

"By Sunday, authorities confirmed there were "several hundred" tons of the toxic chemical sodium cyanide on the site at the time of the blasts, although they said there have not been any substantial leaks.

"Sodium cyanide is a toxic chemical that can form a flammable gas upon contact with water, and several hundred tons would be a clear violation of rules cited by state media that the warehouse could store no more than 10 tons at a time."

Xinhua said Premier Li Kequiang had arrived at the scene of the blast on Sunday.

The BBC reports:

"At a news conference on Sunday morning, officials said they had identified 24 of the dead. Experts are carrying out DNA tests to help indentify the rest of the victims.

"At least 21 firefighters are among the dead. Of the 721 people injured, 25 are in critical condition and 33 are serious."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a correspondent for NPR's General Assignment Desk.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Related Content