China began Friday delivering equipment worth 20 million yuan (US$2.9 million) to Russia to help fight a series of menacing fires, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

The equipment included 2,000 gas masks, 4,000 gas mask canisters, 1,400 fire-fighting uniforms, and 900 breathing apparatuses.

It also comprised 200 air tanks, 52 extinguishers, 40 sets of fire extinguishing systems and 10 field service compressors, said the MOC in a brief statement on its website.

The Chinese government announced on Aug. 11 that it would donate US$1 million and offer humanitarian aid worth 20 million yuan to help Russia cope with fallout from wildfires.

The raging peat-bog fires are reported to have killed 53 people and left 3,500 people homeless in Russia.

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2010)