A 19-year-old firefighter has been pulled out of the wreckage of a devastating blast at a warehouse in the Chinese port city of Tianjin two days later.
The Tianjin fire department said 1,020 firefighters and 140 fire engines remain at the site as the fire rages on.
Chinese state media reported that the survivor, named Zhou Ti, was found at 7:05 a.m. local time Friday. He has injuries on his chest, legs and head, but is conscious, said China Daily.
Rescued 19-year-old firefighter Zhou Ti has stable vital signs #TianjinBlast pic.twitter.com/sJbc0LnkHM— CCTVNEWS (@cctvnews) August 14, 2015
Zhou Tian, the head of Tianjin's fire department, said at a news conference that many of the firefighters who were killed by the fire were unprepared when the blast first occurred.
So far, 17 firefighters have been confirmed as part of the 55 casualties. A total of 701 people have been injured.
The Beijing Times posted on its Weibo account that the blast scattered highly toxic sodium cyanide on nearby roads and buildings. Reporters were able to create flammable hydrogen cyanide gas by pouring water over the solid substance, and there are fears that as a result, more fires will break out in the city if it rains.
