PLA unit leaves for Nepal

A 55-member team affiliated with the People's Liberation Army left for Nepal on Monday to help with rescue operations.

The team arrived via a PLA air force plane that departed from Kunming, Yunnan province. Another team of 45 soldiers will leave for Nepal on Tuesday.

The 100 soldiers are taking four sniffer dogs, five recovery vehicles and rescue equipment, including life detectors and entry tools.

They are experienced in earthquake rescue missions and participated in operations in recent years for the deadly quakes in Wenchuan and Lushan in Sichuan province and Ludian in Yunnan province.

The team will conduct rescue operations and provide medical aid and psychological counseling after arriving in Kathmandu.

A 62-member Chinese search-and-rescue team, along with six dogs, arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday to become the first international heavy urban search-and-rescue team in the Himalayan country, according to the China Earthquake Administration.

Rescue team members have experience in dozens of international and domestic earthquake rescue missions, including those for the Wenchuan quake in 2008 and in Japan, Haiti and Pakistan.

Xinhua