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BEIJING, Aug. 20 (Xinhuanet) -- The municipal government of the northern Chinese city of Tianjin just gave a briefing on the latest on the August 12th explosions. Recovery work and efforts to control hazardous chemicals at the site continue.
Acting secretary of the Tianjin municipal party committee and also Tianjin mayor Huang Xingguo attended the presser for the first time and vowed a thorough investigation into the accident.
"As for the enterprises and personnel who were involved in the accident, the attitude from our Tianjin municipal Party committee and Tianjin government is this: No matter who he is, no matter what kind of relationship he has, we will investigate thoroughly and deal with it strictly according to the law without any shielding or appeasement," said Huang Xingguo, Tianjin mayor.
The death toll now stands at 114, and 64 remain missing. 83 of the victims have been identified by DNA matches. Nearly 700 people have been hospitalized, and more than 50 were critically or seriously injured. Apartments housing more than 17 thousand families have been damaged.
More than 3000 vehicles were burned. Huang Xingguo says that as the chief of the Tianjin municipal Party committee and Tianjin mayor, he bears responsibility for the accident. He says more than 14 thousand personnel have been dispatched to search for scattered chemicals. Vice mayor He Shushan provided an update on the hazardous chemicals.
"As for the location of the chemicals, all have been cleared up within the 3 kilometers area...with around 150 kilos found. So most of them were located in the core area which was surrounded by the small reservoir. We have transferred 150 tons of sodium cyanide out of the area. The rest exploded in the huge blasts."
"As to the work, our chemical forces and experts have worked out a plan and started the operation last night. It is now still in the survey stage. It is the most difficult and dangerous stage. The final date will depend on how this stage goes," said He Shushan, vice mayor of Tianjin.
(Source: CNTV.cn)
