BEIJING: At the request of Myanmar, China dispatched a search and rescue team to the earthquake-stricken areas on Saturday (March 29) morning to carry out international rescue operations.
According to the Ministry of Emergency Management, the rescue team has already departed from Beijing on a chartered Air China flight heading to the disaster areas.
On Friday, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, resulting in significant casualties and property damage.
Xinhua News Agency, citing SAC information team, reported that as of Saturday, 1,002 people have died, 2,376 have been injured, and many are missing across all affected regions in the country.
According to a news release from the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Chinese rescue team consists of 82 members.
They are equipped with rescue gear and materials to make every effort to assist Myanmar in emergency rescue and relief efforts, it said.
Meanwhile, a group of 16 Chinese volunteers set off for the quake-hit Myanmar on Saturday morning to provide assistance in disaster relief and rescue efforts.
The volunteers, all experienced members of the Blue Sky Rescue team — a Chinese civil relief squad — departed from Ruili City in Southwest China's Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, at around 9.30am.
Equipped with emergency relief supplies, including first aid kits, power generation and lighting facilities, and demolition tools, they travelled in a convoy of five vehicles.
"We are the first team and will be followed by a second and a third team," said Gao Hengyi, head of the Ruili branch of BSR.
They followed a 37-member rescue team sent by Yunnan province, which arrived in Myanmar earlier on Saturday morning. - China Daily, Xinhua
