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Explosion in Chinese City of Tianjin Burns Dozens of VW Beetles and Hundreds of Other Cars

The Chinese port city of Tianjin was a scene of total devastation and carnage earlier today. A huge blast happened at 5 o'clock in the morning at the warehouse of a logistic company. This trigger several other explosions in the port area, one of which was at least twice as large.
Explosion in Chinese City of Tianjin Burns Dozens of VW Beetles and Hundreds of Other Cars 5 photos
Photo: Trending in China
Explosion in Chinese City of Tianjin Burns Dozens of VW Beetles and Hundreds of Other CarsExplosion in Chinese City of Tianjin Burns Dozens of VW Beetles and Hundreds of Other CarsExplosion in Chinese City of Tianjin Burns Dozens of VW Beetles and Hundreds of Other CarsExplosion in Chinese City of Tianjin Burns Dozens of VW Beetles and Hundreds of Other Cars
The initial blast was estimated as equivalent to 3 tons of TNT while the second blast that followed about 30 seconds later was the approximate equal of a 21-ton TNT bomb. The blast was so powerful that seismographs picked it up with earthquake detection equipment.

400 people have been taken to hospitals thus far, at least two firefighters have died, and six more are out of contact. As of the time of writing, there are 44 reported fatalities, but the final number could be much higher.

Ground zero for the blast was at the Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd building, which is said to handle the transport of hazardous substances. We don't know what sort of materials we're talking about, but the explosion resembles fireworks, and the colored smoke could indicate phosphorous.

Tianjin has one of the biggest ports in China and most of the cars coming in from Europe and the US come through here. Most of Northern China receives import vehicles thanks to these facilities and most are considered expensive goods. Sadly, thousands of vehicles have been affected by the blaze. Some were completely burned while others were damaged by the force of the blast.

These dramatic photos show row after row of brand new Volkswagen Beetles that have been burned down to the metal shell. We also see over one hundred Touareg SUVs and other vehicles. It's a Volkswagen Armageddon, with property damage going well into the billions of dollars.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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