Residents around the site of giant explosions in the Chinese port of Tianjin were evacuated over fears of toxic contamination, the official Xinhua news agency said Saturday, as the death toll rose to 85.

Residents around the site of giant explosions in the Chinese port of Tianjin were evacuated over fears of toxic contamination, the official Xinhua news agency said Saturday, as the death toll rose to 85.

Armed police were carrying out the evacuation after highly poisonous sodium cyanide was found at the site, the Beijing News said, as the blaze intensified dramatically, with several blasts reportedly heard.

"Out of consideration for toxic substances spreading, the masses nearby have been asked to evacuate," Xinhua said.

Officials said earlier that specialists from sodium cyanide producers were being sent in to the hazardous goods storage facility where giant explosions days earlier sent a huge fireball soaring into the sky and left a vast radius of destruction.

Authorities have struggled to control the resulting days-long blaze and identify the substances present at the scene, sparking fears among locals.

There were 21 firefighters among the dead, authorities said, and 721 people had been hospitalized, 25 of whom were in critical condition.