Special report: Strong Earthquake Jolts SW China

    MOSCOW, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian rescuers will fly to quake-hit China to take part in search and rescue operations, the Russian Emergency Ministry said Thursday.

    "China is ready to accept a group of Russian rescuers and medics for participation in search and rescue operations and clearing the rubble in the country's affected areas. The Russian Emergencies Ministry's Il-76 plane is leaving for China tonight," the Ministry was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying in a press statement.

    The Russian group comprises 29 rescuers, including four search and rescue dog teams, 13 doctors from the Tsentrospas squad and a group of six ministerial officials led by Sergei Salov, the head of the ministry's operations department, the statement said.

    Russian rescuers will bring search devices, relief equipment and special rescue vehicles capable of accessing hard-to-reach areas. Medics will be sent to China on the next flight.

    All rescuers headed for China have an experience of working in quake-hit areas, and were many times involved in dealing with similar disasters in various parts of the world, the statement said.

    A Russian Emergency Ministry aircraft took off from Moscow Tuesday night, carrying 30 tons of humanitarian cargo to China, where a devastating earthquake has claimed over 19,500 lives in its southwestern Sichuan province.

    The country delivered Wednesday its second batch of humanitarian aid to the quake-hit areas.

    Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has sent a message of solace to Chinese President Hu Jintao over the disastrous earthquake.

    The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale, rocked southwest China Monday afternoon.