Ceremony held on seventh day of Tianjin blasts to mourn victims

Firefighters hold three-minute silence at a ceremony to mark the seventh day since the blasts rocked a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals in Tianjin Binhai New Area, Aug 18. [Photo/Xinhua]

People held three-minute silence and sirens sounded Tuesday at a ceremony to mark the seventh day since the blasts rocked a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals in Tianjin Binhai New Area.

Meanwhile, Central China Television and several provincial satellite television stations suspended some entertainment programs to show respect to the dead. CCTV said Monday afternoon that its entertainment channel will stop airing all of its entertainment programs until Thursday.

Provincial television stations that suspended programs include Tianjin Satellite TV, Eastern Satellite TV, Jiangsu Satellite TV, Anhui Satellite TV, Sichuan Satellite TV and Yunnan Satellite TV. Several entertainment press conferences have also been cancelled. Numerous celebrities mourned the dead on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like social networking site.

By 9 am on Tuesday, at least 114 have been killed and 57 remain missing, according to statistics released at a press conference.

Tuesday marks seven days since the blasts, and according to Chinese tradition this a key date on which to mourn the passing of the dead.

Chinese State Councilor and Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun pays tribute to the victims at a ceremony to mark the seventh day since the blasts rocked a warehouse storing hazardous chemicals in Tianjin Binhai New Area, Aug 18. [Photo/Sina Weibo]