Massive blasts in Tianjin leave 55 dead, fires under Control

The official death toll from Wednesday night's massive explosions at the Port of Tianjin now sits at 55.

At least 18 others are listed as missing.

Of the over 700 people hospitalized, at least 70 remain in critical condition.

"Since the accident occurred, we have established a medical emergency response team and have dispatched 110 doctors from the city's 29 major hospitals to the accident site. The doctors cover areas such as general surgery, orthopedics, burns, intensive and emergent care."

Wang Jiancun, Director of Tianjin's Health and Family Planning Commission, outlining some of the challenges they're facing in the wake of Wednesday night's massive blasts.

Doctors and other medical experts from Beijing and surrounding areas are also being sent in to help deal with the massive amount of casualties.

At the same time, psychological specialists are also in Tianjin to help the victims cope with what they’ve been through.

Massive blood drives are also continuing.

Local authorities in Tianjin say as of last night, they believe they have the fires from Wednesday night's massive blast mostly contained.

Meanwhile, more than 200 military specialists are now in Tianjin to assess the environmental impact from the explosion and fire.

Authorities have been monitoring the air quality in and around the city amid fears of toxic smoke putting more people into the hospital.

Wen Wurui with the Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau says the air quality has remained normal in the region.

"We checked the figures of the five automatic air quality monitoring systems which were installed nearby. The results show that the air quality there basically remains the same level with other areas of Tianjin and it was not affected by these pollutants."

In addition, environmental authorities in Beijing say the capital's air is not expected to be affected, as the prevailing winds have been blowing most of the smoke out to sea.

Tianjin's environmental protection authorities taking a close look at the water around the blast area.

"We have started to test the water quality at discharge points. For now, all the three water discharge points moving out to the sea have been closed and the water is being tested."

Rail links connecting downtown Tianjin to the Binhai New Area remains suspended.

The massive shockwave from the blast has damaged one of the terminals along the line.

It remains unclear when rail services along that line will resume.

As Tianjin begins to take stock of the situation this Friday, questions about what caused the massive blast remain unanswered for the time being.

Chiense President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang are both demanding a thorough investigation, promising the full weight of the law will be applied to anyone found negligent.

Meanwhile, condolences have been rolling in from around the world.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has issued a statement of condolence, particularly for the firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice.

So far, the cause of the blasts is still under investigation.