Confusion, Panic as Onlookers React to Tianjin Explosions

Huge explosions at an industrial port tore through China’s northeastern city of Tianjin on Wednesday, August 12, killing at least 50 people and injuring more than 400, state media reported on Thursday. Shockwaves from the blast, which sent a fireball and mushroom cloud billowing over the city, were felt up to six miles away. Local media said the blast occurred at an oil storage facility in the city’s Binhai New Development Zone.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang called for local authorities to make an ‘all-out effort to minimize casualties’. The Binhai government suspended firefighting efforts on Thursday morning due to a "lack of clarity about the content and amount of the “dangerous goods” in the warehouse.

This footage, which appears to have been filmed by an American living in Tianjin, captures a wave of emotions as onlookers react to the explosions, first with curiosity, then disbelief, horror and panic. Credit: YouTube/Daniel Van Duren