Cause under investigation
The cause of the explosions was being investigated but state media saidseveral containers caught fire beforehand.
Tianjin city officials had met recently with port companies to discussincreasing safety rules on the handling of dangerous chemicals. The TianjinAdministration of Work Safety posted a notice about the meeting on itswebsite a week ago.
Tianjin is about 150 kilometers southeast of Beijing. It is China's fourth largestcity and the world’s 10th largest port city.
I'm Ashley Thomspon.
VOA correspondent William Ide reported this story from Beijing, China. AshleyThompson wrote it for Learning English, with additional materials from Reuters. Caty Weaver was the editor.