A 35-member Chinese medical team arrived in Indonesia on Friday morning to help victims of the devastating quake and tsunami in the country.

The team arrived in Medan, capital of North Sumatra, early in the morning and will rush to the worst-hit Aceh Province later in the day.

On Thursday night, a Boeing 747 carrying 50 tons of relief goods also arrived in Medan.

China on Wednesday delivered 100 tons of goods to Sri Lanka.

The two batches of relief goods, worth 21.63 million yuan (about US$2.62 million), are mainly tents, blankets, bedsheets and food that are badly needed by the people affected by the tsunami.

The doctors to Indonesia are China's third international rescue team. Four women in the team have become China's first female rescue workers overseas. The country sent medical teams to Algeria and Iran in 2003 for earthquake victims there.

China's State Seismological Bureau has also sent an expert to Sri Lanka to help with UN disaster assessment there.

More relief goods are expected as China has decided to increase its assistance efforts.

On Sunday, a tsunami, triggered by a powerful earthquake, rocked many coastal countries in South and Southeast Asia and East Africa. According to reports, deadly tidal waves have killed at least 118,000 residents and tourists. In Indonesia, the death toll is nearly 80,000.

(Xinhua News Agency December 31, 2004)