A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force C- 130 transporter plane departed Komaki Air Base in Aichi prefecture on Thursday to join international rescue efforts in Haiti, local media reported.

The large transporter plane is carrying 24 Air Self-Defense Force personnel as well as medical relief support and supplies and will join Japan's 24-member civilian medical team, currently providing aid in Leogane, 40 kilometers west of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince.

The team is expected to arrive in the Caribbean nation via Miami and start work on Sunday.

Major Atsushi Fujiwara, the senior officer in charge of the operation, said the team will do all they can to help in Haiti.

"We will make concerted and united efforts to push through our missions," he said before departing on Thursday morning.

"It is quite important that we contribute to the people of Haiti, making use of the SDF's abundant experience in disaster relief missions," Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said after giving the official deployment order on Wednesday.

A second earthquake further ravaged the Caribbean Republic early on Wednesday morning. The 6.1 magnitude quake, which occurred shortly after 6:00 AM, was located around 60 kilometers west-southwest of Port-au-Prince, the nation's capital.

(Xinhua News Agency January 21, 2010)