HUGE explosions have rocked the Chinese city of Tianjin, killing at least 86 people and injuring more than 500.
Dramatic footage of the blast, thought to have occurred when a shipment of explosives blew up, showed it lighting up the night sky and showering burning debris across a vast expanse.
The explosion was so powerful it could be felt several hundred kilometres away in Hubei province and has even been seen from space, with a giant mushroom cloud visible from the ground.
Fires quickly spread throughout the container port, which is a centre for petrochemical industries.
China’s National Earthquake Bureau said the two explosions had a combined forced equal to 24 tons of TNT.
Authorities said they lost contact with 36 firefighters at the scene, with twelve believed to be among the dead, according to the Xinhua news agency in China.
Reports from state-run media said the explosion had ripped through a warehouse storing “dangerous goods”.
Chinese TV said there had been two explosions within 30 seconds of each other and that about 100 fire trucks had been sent to the scene.
Fire-fighters are beginning to bring the blaze under control, although it is still burning.
Image shared on Chinese social media of some of the survivors
The injured were pictured lying on the ground after the massive blast
Door frames blown off the wall with the force of the explosion
Shocking images began appearing on social media soon after the blast, with some of the survivors of the blast pictured covered in blood.
The explosion also caused doors to blow off from their frames in nearby apartment buildings and it was even visible from space, with a satellite picking up the fire as it crossed over China.
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