The cause of the explosions was not immediately known, but an investigation concluded in February 2016 that an overheated container of dry nitrocellulose was the cause of the initial explosion. At least 39 firefighters were killed in the blasts, and dozens were still missing. This article may contain an excessive number of ... 104 were firefighters. 12:45 p.m. More than 1,000 firefighters were dispatched after a series of massive explosions killed dozens and left hundreds injured in the northeast Chinese port city of Tianjin on Aug. 12. A fireball shoots into the night sky.

Enormous explosions in a major Chinese port city killed at least 44 people and injured more than 500, state media reported on August 13, leaving a devastated industrial landscape of incinerated cars, toppled shipping containers and burnt-out buildings.

Flames rise as a banner in the background reads "no illegal operations" at the site of a series of explosions in Tianjin, witnesses described a fireball from the blasts ripping through the night sky. 08h36: #Tianjin explosion, images from this morning show the devastation #TianjinBlast . A team of firefighters from the Tianjin Port Public Security Bureau are first on the scene.

More than 1,000 had been sent to tackle the flames. Brand new cars parked in Tianjin port are seen badly damaged at the site of the massive explosions in Tianjin on August 13, 2015. About 40 minutes later, in quick succession, there are two deafening explosions leaving two craters; one large, one small.

08h37: #Tianjin: 6 firefighters died, several others still out of contact during rescue operation . Everything within 150 metres of … At least 21 firefighters have been confirmed dead, with about 70 firefighters reported as missing. 2015 Tianjin explosions Jump to navigation Jump to search. The official Xinhua News agency says the death toll has risen to 44, 12 of them firefighters. Firefighters on Saturday near the site of the explosions in Tianjin, China. The latest on the explosions in China’s port city of Tianjin (all times local): 1:35 p.m.