Death toll in Tianjin blasts rises to 129

The death toll in the massive chemical explosions in the port city of Tianjin today shot up to 129, with 44 people still listed as missing in China's worst industrial disaster.
The toll went up as six more bodies were retrieved from the blast site debris, official media here reported.
All the dead have been identified, including 76 firefighters, seven policemen and 46 other people. The missing people include 28 firefighters, four policemen and 12 others.
Meanwhile, 610 people remain hospitalised, 39 of them in serious condition. A total of 187 injured people have been discharged from hospital.
Twin blasts ripped through a warehouse storing dangerous chemicals in north China's Tianjin Port on August 12.

3,625 burnt cars and 1,677 containers have been removed from the site, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Environmental monitoring showed no excessive levels of pollutants in the air outside the exclusion zone set up around the blast site, but found excessive levels of cyanide in water.
Cyanide was detected in 33 of 44 water monitoring sites. Six sites inside the exclusion zone contained cyanide 0.94 to 36.8 times more than levels officially regarded as safe.
Cyanide was also found in underground water near the blast site but the levels were not excessive, the report said.
Han Fengqun, a 56-year-old who was rescued 65 hours after the blast, is in a stable condition after 10 days in intensive care, said a doctor in charge of his treatment. Han owned a convenience store near the warehouse.

Police have detained executives of the warehouse's owner, Tianjin Rui Hai International Logistics, including company head Yu Xuewei, deputy head Dong Shexuan and general manager Zhi Feng. The cause of the blasts is still being investigated.