The Foreign Affairs Minister has expressed his sympathies with the people of China after huge blasts in the city of Tianjin that claimed dozens of lives.
Charlie Flanagan said, “our heartfelt sympathy as a nation goes to the families of those who were killed and all the survivors and their loved ones.
“My thoughts are with the people of Tianjin today as they mourn their loss,” he added.
Earlier, a young firefighter was pulled alive from the wreckage of the Tianjin explosions which killed at least 50 people and injured mroe than 700.
The 19-year-old, named Zhou Ti, had been trapped for 32 hours after responding to the two huge explosions in the important Chinese port city.
China Central Television (CCTV) reported he is in a stable condition at a hospital in Tianjin, but has burns on his face, an injured leg and is suffering from smoke inhalation.
At least a dozen of his colleagues have been confirmed dead. Eighteen are still missing and 66 have been take to hospital.
"Forces from all sides are searching for the missing firefighters," Tianjin Fire Department head Zhou Tian said, adding that search and further firefighting efforts were slow because of the dangerous chemicals at the site.
Several fire trucks were destroyed in the blasts and nearby firefighters wept as they worked to extinguish flames, the Beijing News reported.
Meanwhile, more than 200 nuclear and biochemical experts from the Chinese military have been sent to the port city of Tianjin after two huge explosions killed at least 50 people.
A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency's Beijing environmental emergency response centre has also gone to the area.
The blasts struck a warehouse of hazardous chemicals at a port and were so large they were seen by satellites in space, sending shockwaves through apartment blocks a number of miles away.
Around 700 people were injured by the explosions, more than 70 of them seriously.
One survivor was pulled from the wreckage on Friday, an official told reporters.
The exact cause is not yet known, but China's President Xi Jinping has demanded those responsible are "severely handled".
Witnesses reported crumpled shipping containers being thrown around like matchsticks, hundreds of new cars being set alight and port buildings turned into burnt-out shells.
Thousands of residents have been moved to nearby schools after homes and apartment buildings were damaged, mostly by the shockwaves from the blasts, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The first explosion, equivalent to three tonnes of TNT, happened at around 11.30pm local time on Wednesday night, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
The second explosion, which was equivalent to 21 tonnes of TNT, happened about 30 seconds after the initial blast.
Authorities said the explosions started at the warehouse owned by Ruihai Logistics, a company that says it stores hazardous materials including flammable petrochemicals, sodium cyanide and toluene diisocyanate.
State media said senior management at the firm have been detained by authorities.
