XIGAZE — Chinese armed traffic police ended their rescue mission in quake-hit Nepal and returned to China at night on May 24 through two border ports.

Major General Fu Ling of the traffic police said a total of 500 Chinese police officers using 180 sets of heavy machinery entered into Nepal at the beginning of the month to aid in earthquake relief.

Police officers have braved falling rocks to remove 550,000 cubic meters of debris, repair 148-km-long damaged roads and reinforce three bridges, said Fu.

They also sent 12.5 tonnes of food and 300 boxes of fast food to the Nepalese, he said.

The China-Nepal Highway, with a total length of 943 kilometers including 829 km in Tibet, was severely damaged in the earthquake.

The 7.9-magnitude earthquake which struck Nepal on April 25 and ensuing aftershocks have left nearly 9,000 people dead and destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of houses in Nepal.