Update: Chinese national rescue team leaves for earthquake-hit Myanmar

BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) — China has dispatched a national rescue team to assist in disaster relief efforts following a devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake that jolted Myanmar on Friday, causing severe casualties and infrastructure damage.

On Saturday morning, the 82-member Chinese rescue team, carrying rescue equipment and supplies, departed from the Beijing Capital International Airport aboard a chartered Air China flight, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

An official from the ministry, while seeing the team off at the airport, urged members to demonstrate China’s professional emergency response capabilities and ensure safety during the mission.

This team follows earlier Chinese relief efforts, including a 37-member rescue team sent by Yunnan Province, which arrived in Myanmar on Saturday morning, and a group of 16 volunteers from the Chinese civil relief squad who set off earlier on the same day.

As of Saturday morning, the disaster had claimed 1,002 lives, left 2,376 people injured, and 30 people remain missing, according to the Information Team of Myanmar’s State Administration Council.