Deadly Blast In China Captured By Weather Satellite, Casualty Rises To 17
A few hours after the deadly blast in China that reportedly killed several people in the city of Tianjin, we now have some more facts about it being revealed. The deadly blast which was caught on camera by several people across the city was so intense, it was also caught by a weather satellite orbiting the Earth. According to KQED News, a weather satellite owned by the Japan Meteorological Agency captured the moment the deadly blast in China rocked the city of Tianjin. The satellite named Himawari-8 took photos of the deadly blast.
#Tianjin explosion visible from space – #Himawari-8 band 7. Movie: http://t.co/PSMOgWWorD pic.twitter.com/qp2aupuYuT
— Dan Lindsey (@DanLindsey77) August 12, 2015
An animated satellite view of the blast was tweeted by Dan Lindsey, a NOAA atmospheric scientist at the Colorado State University. That tweet has since been retweeted several times. The explosion reportedly happened at a warehouse belonging to a company known as Ruihai Logistics, a company that is known to transport hazardous goods. The warehouse was located at the Tianjin container port. According to ABC News, a fire had already broken out at the warehouse nearly 30 minutes before the deadly blast and first responders were at the spot. The fate of the firemen who were at the spot of the blast remains unclear. Chinese news agency Xinhua has so far confirmed the deaths of 17 individuals although experts believe the number could be a lot higher than that. The first blast was followed by another one just 30 seconds later. The cause of the fire that led to these deadly blasts is under investigation.
The twin blasts also caused shockwaves that rattled seismometers, officials from the China Earthquake Network Center said. The first blast caused a 2.3 magnitude earthquake while the larger second blast resulted in a 2.9 magnitude quake. This is the equivalent of detontaing 21 tons of TNT.
While the number of injured remains unclear, a hospital official claimed they were in the hundreds. At least 300 to 400 people with injuries have been admitted to just one hospital.
Several videos of the deadly blast in China have been shared across the Internet soon after the incident occurred at around 11:50 p.m., local time in China. The videos showed a mushroom cloud forming in the sky soon after the explosion.
Injuries reported and rushed to hospital in #Tianjin #Binhai Zone explosing. Strongly felt in neighbourhood. pic.twitter.com/84y1sgPwbn
— Olivier Fehr (@ofehr_en) August 12, 2015
It would take a while before the full extent of the damage caused by this deadly blast in China would be clear.
[Image Via Colorado State University]
