Singapore to send relief supplies to China

SINGAPORE - The Singapore Red Cross will send relief supplies worth about 150,000 Singapore dollars (120, 000 US dollars) to Sichuan, the quake-hit province in southwestern China, it said on Monday.

The first tranche of aid includes the 50,000 Singapore dollars contributed by the Singapore government.

"We are coordinating our relief response with our sister national society, Red Cross Society of China, and our partners on the ground, to get the supplies on the ground soonest possible," said Benjamin William, secretary general of Singapore Red Cross.

He said some 120,000 people in Lushan county in Sichuan need temporary shelter, food, drinking water and medicines immediately.

The Singapore Red Cross has launched a public fundraising appeal and is extending its operating hours to receive donations.

It has also launched two hotlines for its "Restoring Family Links" program to help those in Singapore trace their family members in the area affected by the earthquake.

Sichuan was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Saturday, leaving at lease 193 people killed or missing. The same province was struck by an earthquake in 2008 that left 86,624 people killed or unaccounted for.

"Disasters leave more than physical wounds. Through our assistance, we hope to bring some comfort to the same people who were hit by the 2008 quake," William said.