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Large explosion rocks Tianjin but no casualties reported

The explosion occurred at a 5,300-square-foot warehouse that was storing ammonia and alcohol.

By Elizabeth Shim

BEIJING, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Another warehouse explosion shook the Chinese coastal city of Tianjin two months after a massive blast killed at least 162 people.

Information on the explosion from Chinese media was limited after the blast took place on Monday at about 11:30 p.m., and no deaths or injuries were reported, according to The Los Angeles Times. Chinese social media sites, however, showed videos of a big fireball lighting up the night sky, in a scene that evoked the devastating explosion on Aug. 12, The New York Times reported.

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Photos of the eruption on Monday also showed an orange fireball in the sky, and a man watching as smoke rises from a collection of flames.

The explosion occurred at a 5,300-square-foot warehouse that was storing ammonia and alcohol and located in the Beichen district, an area that is closer to the urban core of Tianjin than the Binhai New Area, where buildings and cars were reduced to rubble in August.

China's Internet buzzed with speculation regarding the explosion. On Sina Weibo, China's No.1 microblog, the explosion was searched 250,000 times.

One commenter said, "It's Tianjin again!" and added, "Hope and pray that everyone is safe. You must treasure the people around you, because you never know whether some accident will strike before tomorrow."

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The explosion in August brought the city's politicians under scrutiny for cronyism and poor enforcement of safety standards.

Tianjin, the country's fourth-largest city, grew 16.5 percent a year as the rest of the economy slowed, according to Chinese data.

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