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Chinese air force soldiers prepare for boarding heading for the quake-hit area in Beijing, capital of China, May 13, 2008. Twenty-two air force aircraft and nine air transports from the Civil Aviation Administration of China were carrying 11,000 soldiers to the quake-hit region, with 1,400 paratroopers already there. [Xinhua Photo]
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Chinese officials vowed timely delivery of domestic and international donations to disaster areas after a massive earthquake rocked the southwestern province of Sichuan on Monday.
The 7.8-magnitude quake is so far known to have killed at least 12,000 people, according to the latest figure.
Wang Zhenyao, director in charge of disaster relief with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, expressed appreciation for all domestic and foreign donators during a press conference on Tuesday.
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Rescue cargos are loaded to the plane before leaving for Sichuan Province at an airport in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, May 13, 2008. Equipped with some 4 tons of rescue cargos, a team of 105 special policemen left Hangzhou for Sichuan Tuesday. Medical staffs and rescue cargos across China were on the way to the quake-hit southwest China after a major earthquake jolted southwest China's Sichuan Province Monday afternoon. [Xinhua Photo]
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After the quake, many foreign leaders and international organizations had expressed sympathy to the Chinese people, he said.
Many overseas organizations had offered to make donations for disaster relief. Li Ka Shing's foundation would donate 30 million yuan (43.47 million U.S. dollars) for disaster relief, he said.
Domestic donations also increased rapidly, especially from regions that have previously been hit by massive quakes, he said. Tangshan, the city hit by another 7.8-magnitude earthquake in 1976,raised 10 million yuan.
Donations from Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Shanghai, Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu have exceeded 47 million yuan, he said.
Companies like COSCO and the Wanda Group had also made donations.
"We really appreciated their kindness and will deliver their donations in a timely manner to the quake victims," he said.
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