Thousands of medical workers are arriving in southwest China's earthquake zone to provide assistance to the growing number of injured.

Six emergency rescue teams, composed of more than 120 medical staff and ambulances have been sent by the Red Cross Society of China to the quake-hit Sichuan Province. They came from Beijing, Shanghai, Hebei, Anhui, Hunan and a hospital of the People's Armed Police.

They joined more than 1,700 medical personnel dispatched to Sichuan by the Ministry of Health. They come from 18 provinces including Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, among others, and include an epidemics control team from the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

A total of 434 ambulances mobilized by the Ministry departed for Sichuan on Wednesday morning. About 300 of them are expected to arrive on Wednesday evening.

The ministry had sent about 1.47 million milliliters of blood to Sichuan. Blood, especially plasma was still needed, an official of the ministry said Wednesday, calling on the public to donate blood.

It also allocated emergency medicine reserves and medical facilities to the province.

The People's Liberation Army has dispatched 70 medical teams to Sichuan.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2008)