A group of earthquake relief professionals sent by Japan has arrived at Guanzhuang Town of Qingchuan County, one of the worst-hit counties in the quake-struck southwestern Sichuan Province.

The 31 well-equipped rescuers are en route to Qingchuan County Town.

Another 29 Japanese rescue professionals are expected to arrive later on Friday with sniffer dogs.

They were the first batch of foreign aid personnel to enter China since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Sichuan Province on Monday afternoon.

Takashi Koizumi, head of the Japanese team, said that the situation in Qingchuan was very severe and they had no idea of the condition of the buildings there, but they were very confident about their task.

He said their most important task was to save lives and they will spare no effort. They are scheduled to stay in Qingchuan about one week but it depends on the situation.

China has also accepted rescue aid offers from Russia, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Singapore, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang early Friday morning.

The ministry said the first group of Russian rescuers totaling 50 is on the way to Sichuan; the plane left Russia early on Friday. It is reported that a second group of 38 Russians will also fly to Sichuan later Friday.

A 55-member rescue team from the ROK and a 55-member Singaporean team will also fly to Chengdu later Friday afternoon, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Li Wenliang, counselor from the Foreign Ministry, said this was the first time that China had accepted foreign professionals for domestic disaster rescue and relief.

According to Chinese officials accompanying the Japanese rescuers, more than 700 people from about 260 families were buried in the ruins in Guanzhuang Town. About 1,500 people died and more than 10,000 were injured in Qingchuan County, according to figures compiled by 4:00 PM on Thursday.

The confirmed death toll in Sichuan was 19,509 as of 4:00 PM Thursday. Another 102,103 people were injured and 12,323 buried in the rubble. Rescuers have pulled 13,465 people alive out of the debris.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)