Air China said late Wednesday it was to dispatch three planes to the nation's northwest quake-hit Qinghai Province for disaster relief.

One of the planes, which had been specially modified to cope with the plateau's high altitude conditions, would fly from Beijing to the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu in Qinghai, whose airport is 3,950 meters above sea level.

The other two planes would fly from Chengdu, capital of the neighboring Sichuan Province, carrying badly needed rescuers and relief materials to Xining, capital of Qinghai.

A 7.1-magnitude quake hit Yushu early Wednesday morning, leaving at least 400 people dead and 10,000 others injured.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2010)