Wind change at China blast site prompts 'orderly' evacuation

China on Saturday evacuated residents who had taken refuge in a school near the site of two huge explosions, state media said, after a change in wind direction prompted fears that toxic chemical particles could be blown inland.

The evacuation came as a fire broke out again at the site of Wednesday's blasts which killed dozens in an industrial zone in the northeastern port of Tianjin, a warehouse specially designed to store dangerous chemicals, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Evacuees were advised to wear long trousers and face masks as they "evacuated in an orderly fashion", according to a post on the official microblog of the Tianjin branch of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China. The streets appeared calm.

But not all was clear amid emotional scenes as families of missing fire fighters sought answers about their loves ones and officials tried to keep media cameras away. Gong Jiansheng, a district official, told reporters there had been no evacuation.

In one piece of encouraging news, a 50-year-old man was rescued 50 meters away from the blast zone, Xinhua said. The man was suffering from a burnt respiratory tract but was in a stable condition after surviving three days in a shipping container, the official China Central Television (CCTV) and Xinhua said.

Chinese police confirmed for the first time the presence of deadly sodium cyanide at the site of the blast that killed 85 people, state media said, as a series of new, small explosions were heard and small fires broke out.

Police confirmed the presence of the chemical, fatal when ingested or inhaled, "roughly east of the blast site", the state-run Beijing News said.

It did not say how much had been found or how great a risk it posed but residents expressed concern about the air and water.

"I do feel a bit afraid," said construction worker Li Shulan, 49, when asked about the air quality. "It definitely doesn't feel good. As you can see our boss is making us wear masks."

An area three km (two miles) from the blast site was cordoned off, the Beijing News said.

No cyanide had been found in the ocean surrounding the port, said the State Oceanic Administration of China in a post on its official website. At an afternoon news conference, officials declined to discuss pollution concerns, referring journalists to other departments.

(Reuters)