Int'l community extends condolences over China's Tianjin blasts

BEIJING?- Foreign countries have sent condolences to China over Wednesday's deadly blasts in Tianjin, expressing deep sympathy and solidarity with the Chinese people.

Two huge blasts ripped through a hazardous chemical warehouse in Binhai New Area in north China's Tianjin city at around 11:30 pm local time (1530 GMT) Wednesday, killing at least 50, including 17 firemen, and wounding over 700 others, with more than 70 in critical condition. Scores of people are still missing.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Thursday that he was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and the injuries to people as a result of the explosions.

"The secretary-general extends his condolences to the families of the victims, including the fire fighters who made the ultimate sacrifice," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a daily briefing in New York.

"He expresses his sympathies to the people and the government of China, and pays tribute to all involved in the emergency response," Dujarric said.

The European Union (EU) on Thursday said that it is ready to provide any necessary assistance the Chinese authorities may request in order to help deal with the situation.

"We extend our condolences to the families and friends of those affected by the explosions that devastated parts of Tianjin in China last night," said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides in a joint statement.

"The EU stands in full solidarity with the Chinese people at this time," said the statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also expressed condolences to Chinese President Xi Jinping over the massive blasts.

"President Putin conveyed his compassion and support to the relatives and friends of those who died in the accident and wished soonest recovery to those injured in the explosions," the Kremlin press service said Thursday.

Extending condolences to the Chinese people over the explosions, US State Department spokesman John Kirby said Thursday: "Our thoughts are with the victims and their families and with China's first responders, who are working to help recover from this terrible tragedy and to assist those who were hurt."

US Secretary of State John Kerry also expressed his condolences for the explosions to a Chinese delegation in his opening remarks to the 19th US-China Human Rights Dialogue held at the State Department Thursday, Kirby said.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Thursday expressed "deep emotion and solidarity" with the north Chinese port city of Tianjin.

The top French diplomat, who is also an honorary professor at Tianjin University, stressed Paris'support for Chinese authorities "in this tragic ordeal."

Offering his "deep condolences" to China, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in a statement on Thursday that "I have conveyed Britain's condolences to senior Chinese ministers and our embassy in Beijing is in touch with relevant national and local authorities."

The Greek government on Thursday extended deep condolences to China, saying that "the grief at the tragic loss of so many human lives in yesterday's deadly explosions in the port city of Tianjin, China, is profound."

"We express our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and to the government and friendly people of China, as well as our wishes for a speedy recovery to the hundreds of injured," said a statement from the Greek foreign ministry.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders expressed his "sincere" condolences. Reynders learned "with sadness" of the disaster, and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured, according to a ministry's statement released on Thursday.

Feeling "deep sorrow" over the blasts in a statement on Thursday, the Georgian Foreign Ministry conveyed the Georgian people's condolences to the government and people of China, to the families of the explosion victims, and expressed "sincere sympathies in this time of grief."

"We extends sincerest sympathies to the families and relatives of the victims and wishes a rapid recovery to the wounded," Latvia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.