China says 49 detained for Tianjin blasts, losses at $1 billion

An aerial picture of the site of explosions at the Binhai new district, Tianjin, China, August 16, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

BEIJING (Reuters) - A total of 49 people have been detained in connection with chemical blasts in the Chinese port city of Tianjin last August that killed 165 people, the government said in a report on Friday while putting losses at more than $1 billion.

Anger over safety standards is growing in China, after three decades of swift economic growth marred by incidents from mining disasters to factory fires, and President Xi Jinping has vowed that authorities will learn the lessons paid for with blood.