"We are confident that we will accomplish the mission in Haiti, We are ready," Wang Yurong, head of the Chinese medical team heading for Haiti, said on Sunday on a chartered plane.

The 40-member Chinese medical care and epidemic prevention team left Beijing for Haiti at about 6:00 PM (1000 GMT) Sunday on a chartered plane, with 20 tons of medical supplies on board. They are scheduled to arrive in Port-au-Prince on early Tuesday morning.

According to Wang, their mission in Haiti is to help the Haitian people cope with the threat of post-quake epidemics and reconstruct their homeland. They will instantly get involved in relief work upon arrival.

All the 40 medical personnel -- internists, surgeons and anti-epidemic experts -- are from China's military medical system. They have participated in other UN peacekeeping missions and the massive rescue mission in quake-hit Wenchuan, southwest China in 2008.

They are to rotate the medical staff in the Chinese international rescue team currently operating in Haiti.

Four Chinese peacekeeping police officers are heading for Haiti along with them to replace their four comrades killed in the earthquake.

(Xinhua News Agency January 25, 2010)