See the MASSIVE blasts in Tianjin that claimed 173 lives (VIDEO)

Blasts were felt in Bejing, 72 miles away.

On August 12, 2015, a series of explosions rocked the Port of Tianjin, killing at least 173 people. An investigation has recently been concluded in the accident, confirming the cause of the blasts. The explosions are very dramatic, and were felt a 100 miles away.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - The Tainjin explosions were caused by over 3,000 (metric) tonnes of potassium and ammonium nitrates. Other chemicals were included in the blasts, in smaller, unknown amounts. Over 40 hazardous chemicals were included.

The disaster began with a small warehouse fire at the port, to which fire personnel responded. Unaware of what chemicals were stored at the site, they began to douse the flames with water, but could not stop the fire from spreading. Eventually, the mixture of evaporating water and heat caused chemical reactions which detonated the larger stores of nitrates. The blasts were captured on film and resulted in 173 deaths with 8 people missing and nearly 1,000 others hospitalized. The blast had the equivalent force of a 2.3 magnitude earthquake.

A massive crater was created by the blasts. Hundreds of intermodal containers were scattered over a wide area, as well as more than thirteen thousand new cars from Hyundai, Kia, Volkswagen, Renault, Toyota, and Jaguar. Several nearby buildings have been condemned. Windows were shattered within a two mile radius, 17,000 apartments lost glass, roof tiles, or suffering some other significant damage.

The blasts were a major industrial disaster and as such were investigated by the Chinese government. The government discovered negligence and corruption and over a dozen people have been charged with serious crimes associated with the blasts, including several high-ranking corporate officers.

Reporting on the incident has been suppressed in China, which likely sees the accident as a national embarrassment. However, it is also an opportunity to improve safety in what may be the world's greatest industrialized nation.

You can view a clip of the blasts here, via Live Leak. Be advised, the video contains explicit language.

In this clip, the shockwave from the blast is captured for a split-second before taking the life of the person shooting the video. (via liveLeak) Such footage should underscore the immense human tragedy of this event.

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