Chinese rescuers race against clock to assist in Myanmar's quake relief efforts

As countries around the world send manpower and resources to earthquake-hit Myanmar, Chinese rescuers have also been racing against time to assist in the relief efforts in its neighboring country.

One of the teams China has dispatched to Myanmar landed in Yangon on Saturday, after flying over 3,600 kilometers aboard a chartered Air China flight from Beijing on Saturday morning.

"We are concerned about the collapsed buildings, the aftermath of the earthquake, and most of all, the rising death toll," said a rescuer of the 82-member team from the plane.

Upon their arrival at the Yangon International Airport on Saturday afternoon, the rescuers were greeted by a welcoming crowd of local officials and residents.

Knowing that time is of the essence, the Chinese rescuers had planned to head directly for Nay Pyi Taw -- one of the worst-hit areas -- by plane, but was forced to travel by bus instead for another 300 km after learning about the limited capacity of the flight.

Aware of the fact that more hours would be lost on their way, the rescuers wasted no time in having a simple meal at a local Chinese restaurant.

"We need to get our physical strength back as fast as possible, lest there is no time to eat after we arrive at the disaster area," said another Chinese rescuer.

Fortunately, from there onward, a group of six volunteers from the local Chinese community, aged between 32 and over 50, would be joining the Chinese rescuers to facilitate their mission.

"Our job is to serve as your interpreters as we go with you to the front lines of search and rescue operations. We belong to the fourth generation of the overseas Chinese here, and I myself also have family members in the quake-stricken area," said Zi Huifen, one of the volunteers.

On Sunday afternoon local time, the team entered the hardest-hit region of Mandalay and immediately took part in the search and rescue work.

In addition to the 82-strong team, another 37-member emergency medical rescue team from southwest China's Yunnan Province arrived in Yangon on Saturday morning. They brought with them a total of 112 sets of emergency rescue equipment, including full-function life detection devices, an earthquake early warning system, portable satellites and drones. This rescue team is the officially organized Chinese rescue team and the first international rescue team to arrive in Myanmar.

The team from Yunnan, joined by Myanmar's rescue forces, pulled out an elderly man who had been trapped for nearly 40 hours under the rubble of a collapsed hospital building in Nay Pyi Taw at 05:00 local time on Sunday.

China has also decided to provide Myanmar with 100 million yuan (approximately 13.9 million U.S. dollars) in emergency humanitarian aid to support the earthquake relief efforts.

Chinese rescuers race against clock to assist in Myanmar's quake relief efforts

An official of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) called for more international funding to support the organization's urgent need to scale up its operation in Myanmar after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake devastated the country's central part on Friday.

Michael Dunford, Representative and Country Director for Myanmar of WFP, made the appeal during an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Monday.

He said the organization urgently needs more funding from international donors as the relief efforts enter the recovery phase.

"I expect that quickly the UN and other international actors will move more to the recovery phase, and this is where we will be looking for a joined-up approach and where we must have additional international funding," he said.

Funding shortage has been a challenge for WFP's operation in Myanmar. In mid-March, it warned that more than one million people in the country will be cut off from WFP's lifesaving food assistance starting in April due to critical funding shortfalls.

It said that these cuts come just as increased conflict, displacement, and access restrictions are already sharply driving up food aid needs.

Dunford said that since WFP has been forced to shrink its assistance in Myanmar, the sudden need to scale up its operation is particularly challenging.

"It's difficult. As I mentioned, we were in the process of downsizing our operation because of a lack of funding. Now, very quickly we need to upscale, so, we can only do that with funding. And ideally, we get funding for our previous operations and this additional requirement. Without that, we will struggle," he said.

According to a WFP statement released on Sunday, the organization is in a position to support 100,000 of the most affected people in Myanmar with ready-to-eat food first, followed by food and cash for food assistance to 800,000 people for a month.

It added that access to earthquake-hit areas and unreliable telecommunications continue to pose challenges for WFP and partners in mounting a full-scale response to massive needs.

The death toll from Friday's devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake in central Myanmar has risen to 2,719, with 4,521 people injured and more than 440 still listed as missing, according to the Southeast Asian country's leader Min Aung Hlaing on Tuesday.

WFP official calls for more funding to support operation in quake-hit Myanmar