First Foreign Disaster Relief Team Arrives in Sichuan

A group of Japanese earthquake rescuers have started working right after their arrival at about 3:30 p.m.at Qiaozhuang Township, seat of Qingchuan County, one of the worst-hit counties in the quake-stricken southwestern Sichuan Province.

The 31 well-equipped rescuers are the first batch of foreign aid personnel to enter China since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Sichuan Province on Monday afternoon.

The rescuers are working at a 6-storey residential building of the county's hospital of traditional Chinese medicine. Two aftershocks were felt at the site.

There are still three people under the debris of the collapsed building, where nine bodies were dug out earlier.

Takashi Koizumi is the head of the team.

According to Japanese media, Japan is also considering sending a 20-member medical team.

Rescue teams from SOUTH Korea, Russia and Singapore have also arrived in the quake zone.