The first batch of relief supplies of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) arrived in Chengdu, capital of China's quake-stricken Sichuan Province, Monday night.
The relief supplies, carried by two military planes, reached the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 10:30 p.m. Monday. They were mainly tents weighing 16 tonnes.
The organization will ship another two to three consignments of relief goods from Beijing to Chengdu soon. They include quilts, blankets and school kits.
All the emergency supplies are worth 430,000 U.S. dollars.
A UNICEF officer said the fund would dispatch staff to join the relief efforts and carry out psychological treatment to help with quake-affected children's recovery.
The death toll from the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 rose to 34,073 by noon on Monday, according to the earthquake relief headquarters of the State Council.
(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2008)