First Chinese rescuers, hospital ship depart for Philippines

BEIJING, China (Xinhua) -- The first batch of China's emergency rescuers has departed for the typhoon-stricken Philippines Wednesday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman said early.

After getting the confirmation from Manila, China's emergency medical team and rescue team will go to the Philippines soon with the first batch of rescuers, who are from the China Red Cross, to depart on Wednesday, foreign affairs spokesman Hong Lei said.

China is also sending a medical boat Peace Ark, which belongs to the Chinese navy, to the Philippines, Hong said, adding the boat, which has good medical rescue capability and maneuverability, will depart soon.

Hong said China is keeping a close watch on the typhoon disaster in the Philippines and would like to follow the spirit of healing the wounded and rescuing the dying and send the rescuers for humanitarian medical assistances.

The first batch of Chinese humanitarian aid for survivors of Typhoon Haiyan arrived on Monday and Tuesday in the central Philippine city of Cebu, a center for relief goods distribution, Hong told a press briefing on Tuesday.

The relief aid, including tents and blankets, was shipped by a China Eastern Airlines cargo plane and handed over to the Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development, and then will be sent to Tacloban, one of the worst-hit cities in the central Philippine province of Leyte.

The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan has increased to over 4,000 as of Wednesday, and the number of the injured ballooned to 18,267, according to figures released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.