Tianjin blast probe suggests action against 123 people

Beijing, Feb 5: An investigating team of China’s State Council has named 123 people, including five officials at ministerial level, as responsible for the Tianjin warehouse explosions in August 2015 that killed 165 people.

After five months of investigations, the team has concluded that the disaster was caused by ignition of hazardous materials, improperly or illegally stored at the site, Xinhua news agency reported.

The fire first started in a container through auto-ignition of nitro-cotton due to vaporisation of the wetting agent during hot weather. The fire spread, igniting other chemicals, including ammonium nitrate.

Authorities are continuing the clean-up nearly six months after the explosions. (IANS)