A group of rescue professionals sent by the Japanese government arrived in Chengdu, capital of quake-ravaged southwest China's Sichuan Province, early Friday to assist the rescue work.

The 31 rescuers will go to Guanzhuang Town of Qingchuan County, and another 29 Japanese rescue professionals are expected to arrive Friday afternoon with search dogs.

They were the first batch of foreign aid personnel since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Sichuan on Monday afternoon.

By press time, these Japanese are still on their way to Qingchuan, nearly 400 kilometers away from Chengdu. The motorcade was blocked for an hour due to a serious traffic accident more than 30 kilometers away and had to take another way to Qingchuan.

Takashi Koizumi, head of the Japanese team, said the disaster in Qingchuan is very severe. Although they have no idea about the structure of buildings there, they are very confident of fulfilling their task.

He said their most important task is to save lives. They are scheduled to stay in Qingchuan for one week, but it depends on the local situation.

The Chinese government has also accepted rescue aid offers from Russia, the Republic of Korea and Singapore, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang early Friday morning.

Li Wenliang, counselor from the Foreign Ministry, said this is the first time for the Chinese government to accept foreign professionals for domestic disaster rescue and relief.

According to Chinese officials accompanying the Japanese rescuers, more than 700 people of about 260 families were buried in ruins in Guanzhuang Town. About 1,500 people died and more than 10,000 injured by 4 PM on Thursday.

The confirmed death toll in the province has reached 19,509 by 4 PM Thursday. Another 102,103 people were injured and 12,323 buried in the rubble. Rescuers have pulled 13,465 people alive out of the debris.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2008)