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Huge explosions sparked overnight at a warehouse for dangerous materials in the northeastern Chinese port of Tianjin killed at least 17 people, injured hundreds and sent massive fireballs into the night sky, officials and state media outlets said Thursday.

Flammable goods at a container terminal in northern China’s Tianjin municipality exploded at about 11:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday (11:30 a.m. ET), shattering windows and causing injuries, according to state media reports. The blast was powerful enough that the shockwave knocked people over several kilometres away.

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CCTV, the state-run broadcaster, said that another 248 people had been admitted to hospitals in the city, east of Beijing. The explosions late Wednesday knocked off doors of buildings in the area and shattered windows up to several kilometers away.

“I thought it was an earthquake, so I rushed downstairs without my shoes on,” Tianjin resident Zhang Siyu, whose home is several kilometers from the blast site, said in a telephone interview. “Only once I was outside did I realize it was an explosion. There was the huge fireball in the sky with thick clouds. Everybody could see it.”

Zhang said she could see wounded people weeping. She said she did not see anyone who had been killed, but “I could feel death.”