Amid Contamination Fears, China Blocks Blast Site Officials scramble to clear Tianjin of sodium cyanide By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Aug 16, 2015 7:33 AM CDT 12 comments Comments Chinese firefighters rest as they wait to be deployed near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. State media reported that the casualties of the... (Ng Han Guan) View 16 more images (Newser) – Authorities pulled more bodies from a massive blast site in the Chinese port of Tianjin, pushing the death toll to 112 today as teams scrambled to clear dangerous chemical contamination. Hundreds were injured and 85 firefighters and 10 others are missing since a fire and rapid succession of blasts late Wednesday hit a warehouse for hazardous chemicals in Tianjin, 75 miles east of Beijing. New small explosions continued to rock the locked-down disaster zone over the weekend. Angry relatives of missing firefighters stormed a government news conference yesterday to demand any information on their loved ones. The death toll includes at least 21 firefighters—making the disaster the deadliest for Chinese firefighters in more than six decades. Two state-run Chinese news outlets, the Paper and the Southern Metropolis, reported that the warehouse was storing 700 tons of sodium cyanide—70 times more than it should have been holding at one time, and that authorities were rushing to clean it up. Authorities also detected the highly toxic hydrogen cyanide in the air slightly above safety levels at two locations, the Paper cited a Tianjin environmental official as saying. But the contamination was no longer detected later yesterday. Authorities were keeping people outside a 1.8-mile radius around the site in what media reports said was an operation to clean up the sodium cyanide. Heavy smoke from a fire engulfing several cars rose as high as 10 yards, accompanied by at least five explosions. Police and military set up checkpoints on roads leading to the blast sites, and helicopters hovered in the overcast sky. The air had a metallic chemical smell, and there was fear that rain mixed with the chemicals could set off more explosions. (Read more China stories.) Chinese firefighter collect lunch as they wait near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. State media reported that the casualties of the first... (Ng Han Guan) Chinese emergency crew survey the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. New explosions and fire rocked the Chinese port city of Tianjin on Saturday,... (Ng Han Guan) (Uncredited) Chinese emergency crew survey the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. New explosions and fire rocked the Chinese port city of Tianjin on Saturday,... (Ng Han Guan) Relatives of missing firefighters gather at a hotel where media press conferences are held in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. Angry family members of firefighters missing... (Ng Han Guan) A Chinese firefighter adjusts his mask as he waits to be activated near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. (Ng Han Guan) Chinese emergency crew survey the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. New explosions and fire rocked the Chinese port city of Tianjin on Saturday,... (Ng Han Guan) Relatives of missing firefighters gather outside a hotel where media press conferences are held in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. Angry family members of firefighters... (Ng Han Guan) Chinese traffic police wear masks as they man a security checkpoint near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. New explosions and fire rocked the... (Ng Han Guan) Chinese firefighters wait near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. State media reported that the casualties of the first three squads of firefighters... (Ng Han Guan) A Chinese traffic police man wears a mask at a security checkpoint near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. (Ng Han Guan) (Uncredited) A Chinese firefighter walks near fire trucks near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. New explosions and fire rocked the Chinese port city of... (Ng Han Guan) Chinese firefighter eat lunch as they wait to be activated near the site of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. State media reported that the casualties... (Ng Han Guan) Men gather on an elevated highway near the smoking remains of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. New explosions and fire rocked the Chinese port city of... (Ng Han Guan) Wang Baoxia talks to a journalist about her missing brother Wang Quan who was at the scene of an explosion in northeastern China's Tianjin municipality, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. Angry family members of... (Ng Han Guan) My Take on This Story Report a story error Show results without voting | 4% Hilarious 0% Intriguing 19% Depressing 0% Brilliant 65% Scary 12% Ridiculous