The 4.10pm GMT image. Photograph: Japan meteorological agency/AFP/Getty Images

The explosions at the Chinese port city of Tianjin were so massive they could be seen from space. This sequence of satellite photos released by the Japan meteorological agency show a white spot – at the centre of the photo – getting bigger. The first picture (below) was taken on 12 August at 15.30 GMT, the second at 15.50 GMT and the third (above) at 16.10 GMT.

Satellite photos released by the Japan Meteorological Agency shows a white spot growing on the city of Tianjin in China. Photograph: Japan meteorological agency/AFP/Getty Images

At least 50 people have died from the series of blasts that occurred shortly before midnight local time, when a shipment of so-far unidentified “dangerous goods” in a warehouse went up in flames. The explosions were so strong they shook homes on the other side of the city and sent flaming debris arching over nearby high-rise buildings.