This story was updated at 11 p.m. PT with additional details.
A massive explosion rocked the northern city of Tianjin, China, just before midnight local time, according to local reports. The Xinhua news agency has reported the death toll at 44 now, up from earlier reports that said at least 17 people have died, 32 critically hurt, and 283 injured.
One local Twitter user, citing hospital staff, said the emergency room was caring for approximately 300 to 400 injured people, many of whom were burn victims. Another report from CCTV reporter Matt Simon said that 400 people were injured, including four firefighters, with two more firefighters reported missing.
By Thursday morning, there were few updates out of Tianjin and multiple American news outlets reported resistance from authorities who attempted to curb any reporting from hospitals.
The blast originated from RuiHai Logistics’ warehouse, at Tianjin Dongjiang Port in Tianjin’s Binhai district, east of the city’s main urban area. The warehouse contained “dangerous articles."
The fiery blast was actually two separate explosions in quick succession, with one happening at 11:34 local time, and the second one happening 30 seconds later, the Chinese Seismological bureau said in a post on
NEW DETAILS: Explosion happened at Tianjian Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd. It handles transport of hazardous goods— Matt Simon (@MSimonTV) August 12, 2015
Chinese media and Weibo users are using Weibo throughout the night to communicate and spread cries for help.
One post called for a blood donation for an 8 year-old boy with a RH-negative A blood type who was injured from the blast.
Others showed Tianjin city residents lining up at local blood banks to donate their blood at 4:30 a.m. local time.
Images of casualties and damage in #Tianjin from Weibo: pic.twitter.com/lQuCgRSuhd— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) August 12, 2015
Video of the explosion shows what appears to be a small fire suddenly lighting up the night sky as sparks and debris are launched high into the air.
@thelastnext the explosion in Tianjin Binhai New Area pic.twitter.com/MQcpfuTN2M— William Locke (@thelastnext) August 12, 2015
People's Daily, the Chinese government's state-run newspaper, tweeted that the blast was "caused by explosive material in [a] container."
Tianjin Explosion: caused by explosive material in container at terminal in Binhai Dist. Injured rushed to hospital. pic.twitter.com/2O5P7ztVzA— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) August 12, 2015
Update:#Tianjin explosion reportedly caused by inflammables & explosives at container terminal, hundreds hospitalized pic.twitter.com/c2BUYhkrE1— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) August 12, 2015
The paper also tweeted that the blast from the "mushroom cloud" was felt more than six miles away.
#Breaking: Explosion happened in E China's Tianjin City Wed. Huge mushroom cloud seen. Quake felt 10 km away. pic.twitter.com/PkgzFb8kyv— People's Daily,China (@PDChina) August 12, 2015
Shanghai Morning post on Weibo posts seismographs of the #Tianjin explosions. http://t.co/gpkVQLXbL7 pic.twitter.com/h1MqCskIW5— reported.ly (@reportedly) August 12, 2015
The explosion was large enough to be detected by satellites.
Shanghaiist posted video from a nearby hospital of victims receiving treatment. The site also reports that Tanggu Hospital has reached capacity for treating victims.
tianjin explosion pic.twitter.com/FK5xjCz2Xk— William Locke (@thelastnext) August 12, 2015
Other videos on YouTube, Weibo and Twitter captured the blast.
#Tianjin: surveillance camera captures the moment the explosion smashed glass - via @pdchina pic.twitter.com/KboWgyYg0w— Julia Macfarlane (@juliamacfarlane) August 12, 2015
#news A powerful blast has rocked the Tianjin binhai new area,in #China pic.twitter.com/a4fDwgr1KU— FreeWill (@freewill89) August 12, 2015