Central SOEs rush to help after deadly blast in Tianjin

BEIJING - A batch of centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) rushed to offer search and rescue help in the wake of deadly blasts in China's northern port city Tianjin.

The death toll from massive warehouse explosions in Tianjin on Wednesday night rose to 50 Thursday evening, 17 of whom were firemen. Meanwhile, 701 others were admitted to hospitals, and of them, more than 70 are in critical condition, local authorities said.

The Aviation Industry Corp. of China conducted two aerial surveys and relayed detailed information of the blast scene to the team on the ground, and Sinopec Tianjin Co. despatched its fire prevention branch to the scene, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) on Thursday.

The State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Co. sent its emergency first-response team to assist with emergency power supply and Sinopharm provided medicine for the injured, said the SASAC.

In addition, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom all conducted emergency repairs to maintain lines of communication, said the SASAC.