China's leaders vow to severely punish officials responsible for Tianjin's deadly blasts
Leaders promise to hold officials accountable for Tianjin explosions as excessive cyanide found in water and dead fish appear near the site
The central leadership has vowed to thoroughly investigate the deadly blasts that killed 114 people in Tianjin last week and to severely punish officials responsible for the tragedy.
A special session of the Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee, chaired by President Xi Jinping , was held to discuss the disaster on Thursday as officials admitted that cyanide levels in water close to the accident scene were 356 times higher than the national acceptable limit, and thousands of dead fish appeared in a river near the site.
A statement after the meeting said rescue efforts, environmental monitoring and clean-up of the explosion site should be stepped up and officials would be held accountable.
"Whoever is responsible for the accident will face punishment," it said.
Adding to fears that a toxic sodium cyanide spill at the blast site threatened public health, a sea of dead fish washed up on a section of the Hai River, about 6km from the scene of the accident. Local authorities said no cyanide was detected in the water in the area.
Deng Xiaowen, director of the Tianjin environmental monitoring centre, has promised to conduct tests to find out the cause of the fish deaths.
