India-China-Relief Material
India will be sending at least five more plane loads of relief material in the coming days for the people in the quake hit Sichuan province of China.

Two IL-76 transport planes of the Indian Air Force have already delivered supplies such as tents, medicines, temporary shelters and blankets, All India Radio reported here quoting official sources.

Another IL-76 will take off from Kanpur on Wednesday.

According to Wing Commander Manish Gandhi who is overseeing the despatch of the humanitarian assistance to China, the latest demand from China is for wheelchairs.

Meanwhile, Beijing has thanked India for the timely and generous help. This was conveyed by the Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jeichi to India Ambassador Mrs Nirupama Rao.

China says more than 40,000 people could have been have been killed in the earthquake last week in Sichuan province while tens of thousands more are still missing. The figure was given by Sichuan's governor.

The authorities in Beijing had earlier put the death toll at more than 34 thousand. Teams are still pulling bodies from the rubble, eight days after the quake. Chinese officials say they are struggling to find shelters for nearly five million people who lost their homes in the quake.

They have appealed for more tents to provide temporary shelter.