On Monday, about 100 people whose homes were damaged, and in some cases, destroyed, during the blasts that rocked Tianjin, China, on Wednesday held a protest, asking the government to compensate them.
The residents marched outside of a hotel where officials have been holding daily news conferences about the incident, holding signs that read, "We victims demand: Government, buy back our houses" and "Kids are asking: How can we grow up healthy?" The explosions originated at a warehouse where "several hundred" tons of the toxic chemical sodium cyanide were stored, The Associated Press reports. It was a violation of safety rules; state media said no more than 10 tons were supposed to be there at a time, and the chemicals should not have been so close to a residential area and highway.
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