China sends emergency aid, rescue experts to Nepal

China delivered 50 tons of emergency relief supplies to Nepal on Sunday and has dispatched nine tunnel rescue experts to assist with rescue operations following Wednesday's devastating mudslide.

Two Y-20 transport aircraft operated by the Chinese air force arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Sunday morning, carrying 13,200 relief items, according to the Chinese embassy in Nepal.

The supplies, including tents, blankets, sleeping bags, compressed food and first-aid kits, will be distributed to people in need in disaster-hit areas.

Four Chinese tunnel rescue experts and their equipment arrived in Kathmandu with the supplies, while five others had already reached the disaster area by helicopter from Gyirong in China's Xizang autonomous region on Saturday to begin work at a hydropower station.

China has also provided emergency financial assistance to Nepal in recent days.

A sudden glacier collapse on Wednesday in the China-Nepal border area triggered severe mudslides that led to large numbers of casualties and missing people on both sides of the border.

According to Nepal's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 734 bodies had been recovered from mudslide-hit areas as of 9 am local time on Sunday, with 2,498 people still missing.