[SHANGHAI] The death toll from two huge explosions that tore through an industrial area in the northeastern Chinese port of Tianjin has risen to 85, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

Shockwaves from the blasts late on Wednesday were felt by residents in apartment blocks kilometres away in the city of 15 million people.

China on Friday defended fire fighters who initially hosed water on a blaze in a warehouse storing volatile chemicals, a response foreign experts said could have contributed to the explosions.

REUTERS