Two massive explosions caused by flammable goods hit an industrial area in the northeast Chinese port city of Tianjin late today, killing 13 people and injuring around 250, the official China Daily newspaper has reported.
Pictures posted on Chinese media websites showed fire shooting into the air, nearly twice the height of nearby apartment buildings.
Residents and workers, some bleeding, could be seen fleeing the scene.
State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said the blasts erupted in a shipment of explosives at around 11.30pm local time (6.30pm Irish time), triggering a blast wave that was felt kilometres away.
The second blast came roughly 30 seconds after the first, CCTV and the official Xinhua news agency said.
Xinhua said the explosions had ripped through a warehouse storing "dangerous goods".
The first explosion was equivalent to three tonnes of TNT and the second blast 21 tonnes of TNT, it said. Residents in nearby areas said the blasts had shattered windows in buildings, it reported.
Citing a local hospital, Xinhua said people had been hurt by broken glass and stones and some were seriously injured.
CCTV said on its website about 100 fire trucks had been sent to the scene.
Industrial accidents are not uncommon in China following three decades of breakneck economic growth.
A blast at an autoparts factory in eastern China killed 75 people a year ago when a room filled with metal dust exploded.
