LOS ANGELES - An elite search-and-rescue team affiliated with Los Angeles County Fire Department was en route to Japan to assist in rescue effort in the aftermath of a devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake and monster tsunami, the United States Agency for International Development(USAID) announced on Saturday.

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The team, which is called Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 2 and comprised of about 72 personnel, has departed onboard a charter jet at predawn hours, is scheduled to land at a military base north of Tokyo Sunday morning. They joined another team from Fairfax County, Va., in Los Angeles International Airport as two teams sent by the agency.

"We are working with the government of Japan to provide any assistance needed in the rescue effort as quickly as possible," USAID chief Rajiv Shah said in a statement.

The elite task forces is comprised of approximately 150 personnel and 12 dogs trained to detect live victims, and will immediately begin the search for live victims alongside the Japanese and international search and rescue teams.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department task force, which has been put on a standby after the destructive earthquake occurred, is made up of firefighters, paramedics, emergency room doctors, structural engineers, heavy equipment specialists, hazardous materials technicians, as well as communications and logistics specialists. It travels as a self-contained unit, including food and water, and carries 75 tons of rescue equipment.

The highly specialized task force recently completed an assistance mission in quake-ravaged New Zealand, where members helped dig out trapped survivors from the magnitude 6.3 Christchurch quake on February 22.

A USAID Disaster Assistance Response team is already in Japan, the agency said.