Tianjin Blasts: Latest Developments

[cnleio]

08.16 PLA solders rescured a puppy in the blast center area ... but there no more other life signal

8.16 被北京军区某防化团战士于8月16日在天津港爆炸事故核心区救出的幸存小狗“生化”与恩人们寸步不离。 中新社发 廖攀 摄

 

[cnleio]

08.16 China P.M Li Keqiang at Tianjin blast spot ... (kick local officers' @ss)

据央视新闻报道，8月16日下午，李克强抵达天津“8·12”瑞海公司危险品仓库特别重大火灾爆炸事故现场。 @央视新闻

 

[TaiShang]

Profound lessons must be learned from Tianjin blasts: Chinese leaders - Xinhua | English.news.cn

BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese leaders on Saturday urged authorities to learn from the "extremely profound" lessons paid for with blood as death toll from massive warehouse explosions in Tianjin rose to 104.

In a written instruction, President Xi Jinping said that the Tianjin blasts and a string of serious accidents recently exposed severe problems in the work safety sector, and authorities must always keep "safe development" and "people's interest first" in mind to avoid such accidents.

He demands a better emergency response mechanism, greater implementation of work safety regulations, and careful checks of all possible safety risks, to achieve "substantial improvement" in work safety.

The accountability system must be put into practice earnestly in order to prevent dereliction of duty, he added.

Premier Li Keqiang urged authorities to take forceful and effective measures to rectify the weak link so as to formulate a long-term mechanism to avoid the repetition of accidents.

The State Council on Saturday called a national tele-conference to lay out work on a national safety inspection that will target industries related with dangerous chemicals, explosives, fireworks, elevators, non-coal mines, public transport and ports.

The repeated emphasis on safety followed the massive explosions at a warehouse storing dangerous chemicals in north China's Tianjin City on Wednesday night, killing at least 104 people, and injuring more than 720.

The warehouse was owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd., a storage and distribution center for containers of dangerous goods.

The State Council Work Safety Commission on Friday said the blasts revealed a lack of safety awareness among businesses, lax implementation of safety regulations, irregular practices among workers and weak emergency responses to incidents.

 

[mike2000 is back]

It is nothing with health and safety standard，our standard is high and our political system is very concerned with this kind of accidents，if any accident cause more than 3 death need to report to the province government and most of our provinces have more than 50 million population，any accident cause more than 10 death need to report to the central government ，the central government usually send a team to investigate the accident and punish tens of related departments officials even they are actually not related in person，that is why many local government officials try to hide accidents because the punishment are very harsh. And it is nothing with developing country or developed country，if we take Tianjin as a country，the living standard of Tianjin can match the developed countries. The biggest problem is supervision，the normal supervision is easily affected by corruption officials or lack of technology，in a fast developing country，many peopke want to do everything to become rich quickly and make quick money，that is why we have so many bold businessmen and officials even we have very harsh law punishment，after such kind of accidents everytime，we will see lots of officals will be setenced to jail or lose their positions.

Yes i also mentioned that in such countries, there is still a tendency to put business/money first before safety by officials. As for corruption, i know there is huge corruption in China, however i dont know if that explains why there are so many incidents/industrial accidents in China compared to other countries. I will say you are right by saying it has more to do with how serious the government is willing to constantly/regularly IMPLEMENT/SUPERVISE its own laws/rules and regulations. Since you can have the best health and safety rules on earth , but if you dont implement and supervise them to make sure they are followed then its useless to be honest.

Sentencing those corrupt officials responsible is welcomed, but useless, since the main issue will continue as long as the government doesn't IMPLEMENT AND SUPERVISE constantly/its own laws nationwide. For example here in the west health and safety is paramount and very important as the government puts it first ahead of anything.
I once had the opportunity to work in a construction company as assistant logistic manager, the amount of health and safety rules alone we had to follow was rediculous to say the least, So many 'little' health rules we had to follow, and every week the general health and safety delegates will show up unannounced anytime, in case they saw even a little disregard of health and safery rules by our company, the company will face a warning, heavy fine and even complete shut down. Mind you that's when there was no incident whatsoever,in case that caused an accident or death, then you can figure out what happens to that company.

In short, as far people/companies think they can cut corners and still get away with it, then believe me they will do it. It doesnt matter which country they are from, constant/regular supervision/checks is paramount in making sure rules are followed.

 

[cnleio]

08.16 PLA soldier with heavy chemical protective suit collect water sample in blast center lake
8月16日，北京卫戍区某防化团官兵身穿重型防护服，接近水边取样检测。从卫星拍摄照片和航拍的画面来看，爆炸现场形成了一个明显的大坑。（央视记者刘龙 马凌峰）

08.16 China P.M Li Keqiang bows to Tianjin firefighters who sacrificed life in 08.12 Tianjin blast
8月16日下午，李克强来到天津滨海新区临时灵堂，向“8.12”火灾爆炸事故中牺牲的消防人员默哀并三鞠躬。他说，牺牲的现役和非现役的消防人员履行同样的职责，也应一视同仁对待，让他们得到同样的抚恤和荣誉。@央视新闻

 

[TaiShang]

"Where are you from? How did you get injured? Have you heard from your companions?" Premier Li bowed to inquire of a migrant worker in the temporary relocation site, who was injured in the Tianjin blasts.

In the temporary clinics, Li solicitously asked about the wounds of the injured.

"The government will spare no effort to pull you through. We will help you rebuild your life." said Li.

 

[TaiShang]

Foreign automakers feel force of Tianjin explosions

​

Scenes of the damage caused by the explosions in Tianjin port. [Zhu Xingxin / China Daily]

The massive explosions in the port of Tianjin on Wednesday night destroyed thousands of imported cars that were waiting to be distributed.

As the fourth-largest port in the country and the one closest to the capital, Tianjin is an important import hub for many international vehicle manufacturers.

A dozen companies were affected by the explosions, including Volkswagen, Renault, and Toyota, and the total loss for the automakers concerned has been estimated at more than 2 billion yuan ($312.5 million). Photos from the site show row after row of burnt and damaged cars. However, there is no precise figure for the number of cars destroyed by the blasts, as access to area is still restricted for safety reasons.

Renault and Volkswagen, which suffered the most losses, according to caijing.com.cn, have made official announcements, as have FAW Toyota and Mitsubishi.

Renault announced on Thursday that about 1,500 of its cars were damaged in the blasts. Zhang Le, Renault's public relations officer told China Daily that the damaged vehicles are mainly Koleos, the company's SUV model.

Volkswagen said on Thursday that some of its cars had been damaged, but it was still trying to verify the number. Apart from Tianjin, the company also imports cars through Shanghai and Guangzhou, and it said it will make sure its dealers receive deliveries and it hopes not to inconvenience customers.

Volkswagen reportedly lost 2,748 units of imported models, such as the New Beetle, Golf and Tiguan according to 网易 on Thursday.

FAW Toyota said on Friday that both its staff and production lines were not harmed by the blasts, although the office area and the windows of its factory were damaged, as well as some of its vehicles parked outside the factory.

Mitsubishi said on Friday that about 600 units of its cars in Tianjin port may have been damaged by the blasts.

Hyundai lost 3,950 units cars, the media reported on Saturday.

Other brands, such as BMW, Lexus, and Infiniti, were also affected by the blast.

Yang Lin from Lexus public relations department said less than 1,000 units of Lexus cars were in Tianjin port at the time, but some of them had been damaged by the blasts.

According to National Business Daily on Friday, Jaguar Land Rover also had cars damaged by the explosions, but it is still counting the number.

Impact on dealers

China's auto industry has been experiencing slower growth year, and the Tianjin explosions have added to the pressure on dealers. According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, the vehicle inventory alert index has been above the alert level for months. In July, the inventory was 53.4 percent, above the alert level of 50 percent.

"This worsens the already grave situation. It is not easy to sell cars now. The whole market is not good. And the situation for dealers is unstable," said a senior employee from a dealership deeply affected by the blasts, who prefered to be unnamed and did not want title and company published.

According to this person, at present no one knows whether the cars destroyed in Tianjin are the manufacturers or ones the dealer had already paid for, and the dealership may not necessarily be able to get the full amount of insurance compensation, because the cars are insured by the vehicle producers, not them.

"If the insurance company doesn't give total compensation, we will have to hope the automaker offers some subsidies. If the automaker doesn't give subsidies, we will have to bear it ourselves," the person said.

Some comments by other automakers

As well as those companies that have made official announcements, other automakers gave comments to China Daily:

Mercedes: "No staff dead or injured."

BMW: "Our sympathies are with those people affected by the situation in Tianjin. Our local Vehicle Distribution Centre, which comprises two buildings, was affected by the explosion and both buildings have sustained damage. The condition of the BMW Group vehicles stored at the VDC is not yet known as the area is currently not accessible. All of our employees were evacuated and are safe. We will keep you updated on the situation."

Audi: "Not affected by the blasts."

Lexus: "No staff dead or injured. We have less than 1,000 cars in Tianjin. Probably not many cars were affected as they were parked at different locations. We don't know the exact number of damaged cars as the area is not accessible for safety reasons."

Infiniti: "More than 20 cars were damaged."

 

[TaiShang]

Tianjin Press Conference Live (English translation):

CCTV News Live - CDN Live Streaming - CCTV Program online

 

[xunzi]

That little puppy is very cute. If nobody adopts him, I would.

 

[empirefighter]

Yes i also mentioned that in such countries, there is still a tendency to put business/money first before safety by officials. As for corruption, i know there is huge corruption in China, however i dont know if that explains why there are so many incidents/industrial accidents in China compared to other countries. I will say you are right by saying it has more to do with how serious the government is willing to constantly/regularly IMPLEMENT/SUPERVISE its own laws/rules and regulations. Since you can have the best health and safety rules on earth , but if you dont implement and supervise them to make sure they are followed then its useless to be honest.

Sentencing those corrupt officials responsible is welcomed, but useless, since the main issue will continue as long as the government doesn't IMPLEMENT AND SUPERVISE constantly/its own laws nationwide. For example here in the west health and safety is paramount and very important as the government puts it first ahead of anything.
I once had the opportunity to work in a construction company as assistant logistic manager, the amount of health and safety rules alone we had to follow was rediculous to say the least, So many 'little' health rules we had to follow, and every week the general health and safety delegates will show up unannounced anytime, in case they saw even a little disregard of health and safery rules by our company, the company will face a warning, heavy fine and even complete shut down. Mind you that's when there was no incident whatsoever,in case that caused an accident or death, then you can figure out what happens to that company.

In short, as far people/companies think they can cut corners and still get away with it, then believe me they will do it. It doesnt matter which country they are from, constant/regular supervision/checks is paramount in making sure rules are followed.

Thanks for your reply. I try to say more about the supervision and corruption in China.
As for corruption，yes，there is still huge corruption today，but the situation is obviously improved，thank to the technology development，corruption officials are much more easier to be caught than before. I am confident with our corruption problem，our society actually donot tolerate any corruption since we are socialist country，our political system is very strong，the corruption officials have high risk of harsh punishment，so the situation will be improved and we can feel it now.
As for supervision，as I had mentioned our political system and law both take industrial accidents very seriously，but we still have many industrial accidents.Except for corruption，I think there is cultural reason：We were an angricultural country one generation ago，our society still lack of some characters of the industry society . compared to loose and relaxed agricultural society ，the industrial society need the human more discplined and respect the strict workshop management rules，but many workers and many supervisiors have agricultural mind when they are in a factory，many people ignore the rules naturally even the factories have strict rules ，it is not a law or standard problem，it is a cultural problem，this problem only can be improved by generations，I think the government punish supervisiors merciless everytime try to push the whole society into industrial society ASAP，to be honest，our accidents and deaths actually decrease every year，the worst time of industrial accidents is 90s last century ，just the internet is not advanced at that time so the outsiders didnot know.

 

[cnleio]

Foreign automakers feel force of Tianjin explosions

​

Scenes of the damage caused by the explosions in Tianjin port. [Zhu Xingxin / China Daily]

The massive explosions in the port of Tianjin on Wednesday night destroyed thousands of imported cars that were waiting to be distributed.

As the fourth-largest port in the country and the one closest to the capital, Tianjin is an important import hub for many international vehicle manufacturers.

A dozen companies were affected by the explosions, including Volkswagen, Renault, and Toyota, and the total loss for the automakers concerned has been estimated at more than 2 billion yuan ($312.5 million). Photos from the site show row after row of burnt and damaged cars. However, there is no precise figure for the number of cars destroyed by the blasts, as access to area is still restricted for safety reasons.

Renault and Volkswagen, which suffered the most losses, according to caijing.com.cn, have made official announcements, as have FAW Toyota and Mitsubishi.

Renault announced on Thursday that about 1,500 of its cars were damaged in the blasts. Zhang Le, Renault's public relations officer told China Daily that the damaged vehicles are mainly Koleos, the company's SUV model.

Volkswagen said on Thursday that some of its cars had been damaged, but it was still trying to verify the number. Apart from Tianjin, the company also imports cars through Shanghai and Guangzhou, and it said it will make sure its dealers receive deliveries and it hopes not to inconvenience customers.

Volkswagen reportedly lost 2,748 units of imported models, such as the New Beetle, Golf and Tiguan according to 网易 on Thursday.

FAW Toyota said on Friday that both its staff and production lines were not harmed by the blasts, although the office area and the windows of its factory were damaged, as well as some of its vehicles parked outside the factory.

Mitsubishi said on Friday that about 600 units of its cars in Tianjin port may have been damaged by the blasts.

Hyundai lost 3,950 units cars, the media reported on Saturday.

Other brands, such as BMW, Lexus, and Infiniti, were also affected by the blast.

Yang Lin from Lexus public relations department said less than 1,000 units of Lexus cars were in Tianjin port at the time, but some of them had been damaged by the blasts.

According to National Business Daily on Friday, Jaguar Land Rover also had cars damaged by the explosions, but it is still counting the number.

Impact on dealers

China's auto industry has been experiencing slower growth year, and the Tianjin explosions have added to the pressure on dealers. According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, the vehicle inventory alert index has been above the alert level for months. In July, the inventory was 53.4 percent, above the alert level of 50 percent.

"This worsens the already grave situation. It is not easy to sell cars now. The whole market is not good. And the situation for dealers is unstable," said a senior employee from a dealership deeply affected by the blasts, who prefered to be unnamed and did not want title and company published.

According to this person, at present no one knows whether the cars destroyed in Tianjin are the manufacturers or ones the dealer had already paid for, and the dealership may not necessarily be able to get the full amount of insurance compensation, because the cars are insured by the vehicle producers, not them.

"If the insurance company doesn't give total compensation, we will have to hope the automaker offers some subsidies. If the automaker doesn't give subsidies, we will have to bear it ourselves," the person said.

Some comments by other automakers

As well as those companies that have made official announcements, other automakers gave comments to China Daily:

Mercedes: "No staff dead or injured."

BMW: "Our sympathies are with those people affected by the situation in Tianjin. Our local Vehicle Distribution Centre, which comprises two buildings, was affected by the explosion and both buildings have sustained damage. The condition of the BMW Group vehicles stored at the VDC is not yet known as the area is currently not accessible. All of our employees were evacuated and are safe. We will keep you updated on the situation."

Audi: "Not affected by the blasts."

Lexus: "No staff dead or injured. We have less than 1,000 cars in Tianjin. Probably not many cars were affected as they were parked at different locations. We don't know the exact number of damaged cars as the area is not accessible for safety reasons."

Infiniti: "More than 20 cars were damaged."

Both Renault and Volkswagen lost >1,000 new cars, it means new car will delay 3 ~ 5x months ... a good news for China domestic automobile makers.

 

[cnleio]

08.16 PLA soldiers into residence communities near Tianjin blast spot, searching for dangerous goods

8月16日，天津警备区某舟桥团1100余名官兵戴防毒面具，进入天津港“8·12”瑞海公司危险品仓库特别重大火灾爆炸事故核心区附近的万科金域蓝湾、启航嘉园等小区，搜索生命迹象、清理危险物品。供图：潮阳/CFP

 

[cnleio]

08.16 photos inside the blast center area

8月16日，天津港“812”特别重大火灾爆炸事故核心现场。 中新社发 廖攀 摄

 

[cnleio]

08.16 photos outside the blast area

8月16日，天津滨海新区爆炸发生后，天津民众戴口罩出行。CFP

 

[cnleio]

08.17 morning 100x PLA soldiers into the blast center for searching

8月17日上午9时50分，武警部队100余名防化专业官兵已经在作业区域外集结完毕，准备同时进入核心区展开拉网式搜检。（张海华、吕俊杰）