Firefighters arrive at isolated Baoxing county

BEIJING - A total of 91 firefighters from Sichuan province have arrived at the badly-hit Baoxing county, where communication and transportation have been disrupted after a 7.0-magnitude quake, said the Ministry of Public Security.

The first rescue group with 20 firefighters have arrived at the Baoxing county town by 11 p.m. Saturday, and another team made up of 71 firefighters also arrived at the county's Lingguan town to start rescue work, the ministry said, adding that other rescue teams are rushing to the county overnight.

According to State Seismological Bureau, China international search and rescue team (CISAR) will go to the earthquake-hit area for disaster relief work.

Composed of 200 experienced rescuers, medical personnel and earthquake experts, the team will fly with the air force's two IL-76 transport planes to the disaster-hit area at 1:00 a.m. Sunday from Beijing's Nanyuan airport.

The team will bring 12 sniffer dogs and other equipments to Lushan county, the epicenter of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

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