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Japan sends additional rescue workers to Chinese earthquake epicenter

Japan Sends Additional Rescue Workers to Chinese Earthquake Epicenter

As the death toll continued to rise rapidly, Japan Friday (May 16) sent additional rescue workers to the scene of China's deadly earthquake to search for tens of thousands of people still missing.

The first group of 31 members from the Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) flew to Beijing and then to the quake stricken area of Sichuan Province in the southwest of the country Thursday. It was the first reported foreign rescue group to arrive in China following the 7.8-magnitude quake on Monday.

Friday, an additional 29 team members flew directly to the provincial capital of Chengdu and will then move to a region some 220 kilometers to the northeast of that city near the town of Qingchuan.

The Japanese rescue team members are experts in searching for and rescuing survivors from such natural disasters as major earthquakes. For two decades the JDR system, a network of official and civilian agencies, experts and volunteers including JICA, have been assisting in natural disasters around the world.

JICA initially dispatched tents, blankets, plastic sheeting, sleeping mats, generators, water purification equipment and water cans to the region and after further negotiations with Chinese authorities, it then sent the rescue team armed with the latest search equipment.

State media reported the death toll continued to rise inexorably and could reach 50,000. Some 60,000 people had been rescued but many more remained missing. China has sent emergency teams and thousands of soldiers, including paratroopers, backed by a huge fleet of helicopters to continue the rescue efforts.