Chinese rescue team to Indonesia, tsunami-hit countries step up relief efforts

Members of the Chinese International Search and Rescue team get prepared to leave for Indonesia at Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 30, 2004. The team of 30 experienced Chinese rescuers flew to Indonesia Dec. 30 to assist the rescue work in areas hit by quake and tsunami in the Southeast Asian country.

Chen Jianmin (2nd L), director of the Chinese Earthquake Bureau, sees off a Chinese earthquake rescue team at Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 30, 2004.

Indonesian Minister of Social Services Bachtiar Chamsjah speaks to reporters in the Indonesian national calamity emergency rescue commanding center at the Medan Airbase in Indonesia's North Sumatra Province Dec. 30, 2004. Bachtiar said that since the Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami, the international community has provided his country with humanitarian aid and meanwhile, Indonesia has been heightening its own rescue efforts.

A helicopter carrying relief materials runs to the runway at the Medan Airbase in Indonesia's North Sumatra Province Dec. 30, 2004. These days, the Indonesian government uses military planes to transport relief materials to the disaster areas. On Dec. 30, three aftershocks occurred in Aceh Province, Indonesia's worst hit region in Dec. 26 powerful earthquake and tsunami.

Taufik (Front) (transliteration), lieutenant colonel of the Indonesian Marine Corps, is ready to lead his troops to Aceh to carry out relief mission in northern Sumatra, Dec. 29, 2004. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday issued decrees on stepping up relief efforts for provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, which were seriously hit in last Sunday's earthquake and tsunami off the Indonesian coast. The disaster has left more than 125,000 people dead in South and Southeast nations, including 45,000 in Indonesia.

Staff members of the International Red Cross discuss how to distribute medicine to tsunami victims in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, Dec. 29, 2004. Aid organizations have supplied tsunami victims in Sri Lanka with drinking water, food and medical services. Although the life in the disaster areas is far from normal, local officials believe that there will not be large-scale outbreak of epidemics in the nation.

A staff member of the International Red Cross prepares to distribute medical relief materials to tsunami victims in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, Dec. 29, 2004.