I've been surfing various different Chinese forums and news outlets and honestly it is one of the most heart wrenching things I have read in a long time.
Few things I read about/found:
In my opinion the most impactful video I have seen so far is this one:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0e5_1439474009
"It is literally scary watching it, that last explosion, that guy's voice go from incredulous shocked laughing, to silence, and the fear in his voice... that hit me. Reading about these things on the news gives me no idea of the fear that actual people have when they're watching that. Damn."
The explosion was created because the firemen were dousing a building that housed calcium carbide with water apparently.
"For those who don't know, that makes acetylene gas, which when mixed with air (oxygen) and ignited (by the fire that the firemen were trying to put out) is more than capable of producing the explosion in the video. Somebody fucked up big time by not communicating what the chemicals were with the fire crews both ahead of time and during the accident. Same thing happens with metal factories that work with sodium et al. occasionally."
So essentially what happened was, the firemen were spraying a building with a chemical in it that reacts with water. The chemical reacted with the water to create another chemical that mixed with plain oxygen and was then ignited by the fire that the firemen were originally trying to put out.
There is another rumor going around that there was sodium cyanide at the scene, which, when in contact with fire or water, causes it to expand into a toxic gas.
Aftermath video:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=dbc_1439472341
The death count is said to be ridiculously high, but due to the pure danger of even being in the area a count hasn't taken place yet. There is supposedly many, many people missing, and there is a confirmed 70+ dead but honestly, judging by the aftermath video above, many buildings were completely destroyed so the death count will (unfortunately) most likely continue to rise. Luckily, the destroyed buildings in the aftermath video don't look as if they are residential buildings.
Many of the injured, deceased, and missing were firemen, many who sacrificed their lives for the safety of others, I honestly can't imagine what it must have been like to be one of the firemen related to the explosion, but it really does emphasize the bravery and toughness, as well as heroism needed to be a fireman. I can honestly only give my respect and loyalty to firemen, especially in situations such as this.
The final thing I'm going to leave here is a transcript of SMS messages exchanged by a man and his friend, his friend being a fireman who was on the scene, who at first retreated to safety but then went back into harms way to save the lives of the public, and my fucking god, it is gut wrenching to read, but more than likely worth it.
Translated from Chinese by a native:
Fireman: Are you there, bro?
Friend: I'm here. What's wrong?
Fireman: I can't get any calls out.
... Gang Zhi... he's gone. He sacrificed himself. He's dead.
Friend: What the cow are you talking about.
Where are you.
Fireman: I'm in the truck, on my way to
soup cry (autocorrect). Tanggu District.
Friend: You call me right
now. You hear me.
Fireman: I'm already in my suit, no one else has a phone.
Friend: Then you'll call me first thing in the morning. Got it?
Fireman: ... if I don't come back, you'll take care of my dad, won't you?
... and tell my mom (deceased) I loved her.
Friend: ... I got your dad, bro. Don't worry about him.
You worry about yourself.
I am honestly without words after this, all I can really say is, rest in peace to those who passed away due to the explosion, my thoughts lie with their families and friends.
-Alex
