Video | Face to face with a fireball: Tianjin resident captures terrifying moment warehouse is blown to smithereens

A resident in Tianjin city, China, got an unexpected front-row view of the massive explosion that sliced through an industrial area, killing at least 50 people and triggering destructive shockwaves kilometres away.

The video, posted on social media and filmed from a balcony in a building close to the Binhai New Area, starts immediately after the chemicals ignited at a warehouse owned by Tianjin Dongjiang Port Ruihai International Logistics.

At first, the man and woman heard in the footage think it is a gas station fire.

Seconds later, the first massive explosion happens, sending giant fireballs shooting into the night sky and engulfing structures surrounding the warehouse. The man screams, "No! No!"

A mushroom cloud of smoke fills the air and it rains hot fire in the distance. The people in the video fear for their lives, saying, "Are we in danger here?"  "Yes, we are in danger here," the man responds.