Catholic volunteers were among the first to respond to the explosions in Tianjin last week.

The morning after the blasts, 60 volunteers arrived to help the Government's rescue effort. Organised by the Tianjin Diocesan Social Service Centre, volunteers distributed drinking water, clothes and other supplies to hospitals and temporary settlements.

Two massive explosions rocked the port city of Tianjin on 12 August leaving more than 100 dead and more than 720 in hospital. The blasts exploded a warehouse containing many hazardous chemicals.

The Catholic volunteers were briefed on chemical contamination before heading to the disaster area, where officials dispatched them to various relief camps and hospitals.

One of volunteers, Ignatius Song, described a chaotic scene with emergency vehicles and ambulances delivering the injured to hospitals and bringing in supplies.

"Broken glass was everywhere on the road that led to the blast scene. There were collapsed buildings. It was like watching a disaster movie," Song said.

Other agencies and individuals joined the Chinese Catholic Church in the relief effort. Private cars and taxis offered free transport and hotels provided free accommodation and meals.

In downtown Tianjin, Father Zhang Liang of St Joseph's Cathedral appealed for donations and choir members gathered to give blood.

"Tianjin is not short of money. What is needed now is relief supplies. But since roads that lead to Tanggu are blocked, we have to ask friends and relatives who live in that area to buy and dispatch the relief supplies for us," said Ma Bao, a lay worker at the cathedral.

An underground priest told ucanews.com that in the hours following the blast his congregation celebrated Mass ‎and prayed for "the dead, the injured and their families." "This is the only thing that we can do," he said.