Tianjin mourns for blasts victims

Tianjin on Tuesday observed a moment of mourning for victims of the warehouse explosion that took place in the city on August 12.

Cargo ship horns blared in honour of the dead, while people gathered to stand in silent mourning at 9 a.m. (local time) on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

According to Chinese tradition, the seventh day after one's death is an occasion when the soul returns home. It is typically the day spent mourning for relatives and friends.

The city also sounded a siren as more than 300 people, including officials from the Tianjin municipal government, paid silent tribute at a garden in the Binhai New Area, where the warehouse is located.

Firemen, policemen, volunteers and relatives of the victims lined up to lay bouquets of white chrysanthemum in front of a memorial wall, where a solemn sign hung declaring "condolences to those who died in the August 12 accident".

At the Tianjin development zone fire station, firefighters bowed to 29 photos of the firemen who died in the flames.

Two explosions ripped through a warehouse storing hundreds of tons of toxic chemicals last Wednesday night.

The death toll in the accident has risen to 114, with 692 people hospitalised and 57 still unaccounted for.