Further investigation and rescue efforts underway for Tianjin blast

A blast happened at a residential building in a community in Beichen district of North China's Tianjin around 7:15 am on Tuesday, leaving severe damages to the six-story building.

Authorities confirmed that it was a gas explosion that brought the damages to the building, according to the official WeChat account of Tianjin Daily.

Until around 1 pm, 11 people were injured, most of whom were injured by the falling walls. The injuries were not life threatening, it said.

Apart from the 11 injured and after four hours of rescue efforts, one person was found amongst the damaged sites and another person is being searched for. Three people have lost contact, it said.

Further investigation into the cause of the explosion and the rescue campaign are underway.

Li Hongzhong, Party chief of Tianjin, and Zhang Gong, Tianjin mayor, have arrived at the site to investigate the explosion and arrange the rescue campaign.

They noted that relative authorities should give priority to people's life and speed up rescue efforts.