China Explosion: Tianjin Residents Demand Compensation

People in the Chinese city of Tianjin have led a huge protest demanding compensations for the loss of their homes after the August 12 explosions.

Thousands gathered outside the Mayfair Hotel on Monday, where officials have been giving news conferences.

The Residents claimed that the chemical storage warehouses had been illegally built.

In an open letter to the authorities, the residents said their groundwater could have been contaminated, and that logistics companies and chemical “dumping grounds” remained close to residential complexes.

“Our neighbours lost their lives there. Their screams can never be erased for a long time. How can we live in that ‘execution ground’ with any peace of mind?” the letter states.

The blasts focused on a warehouse which was storing sodium cyanide.

Local media had earlier reported that there were at least three residential complexes within 1 kilometre of the warehouse, which belonged to Ruihai International Logistics.

The death toll from the two blasts last Wednesday rose to 114, officials said. More than 700 people were injured and 70 are still missing, most of them fire fighters.

The explosions sent massive fireballs into the sky and hurled burning debris across the industrial area at the world’s 10th-largest port, burning out buildings and shattering windows kilometres away.