Chinese authorities detain 11 people in connection with deadly Tianjin explosions

Tianjin, China, one day after explosions rocked a warehouse.
(Image credit: Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

Authorities in China have detained 11 officials and port executives in the city of Tianjin, accusing them of dereliction of duty in connection with the Aug. 12 warehouse explosions that killed at least 139 people, the official Xinhua News Agency reports.

Xinhua said the group includes transport and customs officials, top executives at the Tianjin Port (Group) Co., and safety regulators, with investigators saying they issued illegal permits and did not properly supervise businesses that handled toxic chemicals, The Wall Street Journal reports. Authorities previously detained 12 people in the case, and President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have both said they will hold accountable the people responsible for the blasts.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.