<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Three people were killed after a series of explosions caused by fireworks struck residential buildings in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, local officials said Wednesday.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The blasts, which occurred shortly after 8 pm Tuesday, are believed by authorities to have been ignited by a 46-year-old man who has since been arrested.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several others were injured and were still being treated by emergency responders on Wednesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The explosions rocked two residential apartment compounds roughly one kilometre apart in the eastern part of Tianjin, which is about 110 km (70 miles) southeast of Beijing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The arrested suspect, surnamed Ma, is under investigation but no initial findings have been made public.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Images of the scene shared on social media showed firefighters attempting to assist victims inside a housing block, the outside of which appeared to be heavily damaged.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One video showed second-storey balconies hanging precariously over piles of rubble, while a fire blazed from an upstairs window.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">State-controlled National Business Daily reported that 26 homes were damaged as a result of the blasts and that 34 people were evacuated.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In another video, a man at the scene says a housing block was left "decrepit" by the blasts. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>