BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- China sent a 60-member Chinese search and rescue team to quake-hit Haiti on Wednesday evening and the Red Cross Society of China has decided to donate one million U.S. dollars of emergency aid to the Caribbean country.

    A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday local time, collapsing a hospital and damaging government buildings in its capital city of Port-au-Prince.

A female armed police official helps fastening helmet of a female member of a Chinese rescue team before the 60-member team's departure for quake-hit Haiti, at the Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 13, 2010. The team consist of search and rescue personnel, who have conducted many rescue tasks of this kind in the past years, and three sniffer dogs.  (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Photo Gallery>>>

    Eight Chinese peace-keeping police were buried under debris, according to a statement from the State Council.

    China has no diplomatic ties with Haiti. Currently, 125 Chinese peace-keeping police are in Haiti.

    Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have made directives demanding the rescue of those buried, protection of Chinese nationals and provision of humanitarian assistance to Haiti, said the statement.

    The team flying to Haiti consisted of search and rescue personnel, doctors, and three sniffer dogs, Liu Xiangyang, deputy chief of the National Earthquake Disaster Emergency Rescue Team, told Xinhua at the Beijing Capital International Airport.

Members of a Chinese rescue team with sniffer dogs are ready to board a plane leaving for quake-hit Haiti, at the Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 13, 2010. A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday local time, collapsing a hospital and damaging government buildings in its capital city of Port-au-Prince. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Photo Gallery>>>

    "Most of the members are experienced in rescue operations," said Liu at a departure ceremony at the airport. The team also took with them some food, equipment and medicine.

    "Our equipment and personnel might be limited, but we have confidence that we can complete our task successfully," said Hou Shike, a doctor responsible for the medical group.

    China has expressed its sympathy to Haiti regarding the major earthquake earlier Wednesday.

    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a statement on Wednesday that the Red Cross Society of China had decided to provide emergency aid to Haiti.

Members of a Chinese rescue team are ready to depart for quake-hit Haiti, at the Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 13, 2010.  (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) Photo Gallery>>>

    Chinese leaders were very concerned with the safety of Chinese nationals including peacekeepers, compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and overseas Chinese, and has made arrangements for conducting rescue operations as soon as possible, said Jiang.

    "We believe that the Haitian people, under the leadership of their government, will overcome difficulties and rebuild their homes at an early date with the help of the international community," said Jiang.

World Bank to provide additional emergency aid to Haiti

    WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank said Wednesday it will provide an additional 100 million U.S. dollars in emergency grant funding to support recovery and reconstruction in Haiti in response to a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that caused extensive damage and casualties in the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.

    "This is a shocking event and it is crucial that the international community supports the Haitian people at this critical time," a World Bank press release quoted bank group President Robert B. Zoellick as saying. Full story

16 UN staffers confirmed dead in Haiti: Ban

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said here Wednesday that 16 UN staffers were confirmed dead in Haiti in the wake of Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

The 16 include 11 Brazilians, one Argentine, three Jordanian police officers, and one Chadian officer, said Ban. Full story

"Scale of catastrophe in Haiti is very high," says UN peacekeeping chief

    UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations deals with humanitarian crises all the time but the devastating earthquake in Haiti has stricken especially close to home, said the head of UN peacekeeping forces Alain Le Roy here Wednesday.

    With the number of fatalities among UN staff members rising, LeRoy said the emotion is "extremely high." Full story

ECLAC calls on int'l community to aid quake-hit Haiti

    MEXICO CITY, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on Wednesday called on the international community to send urgent humanitarian aid to Haiti, which was hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake.

    In a statement issued on Wednesday in Mexico, ECLAC also expressed its solidarity with the Haitian people, adding that the earthquake left thousands of deaths and hundreds of missing people, including staff of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah). Full story

Major quake rocks Haiti, many nations ready with assistance

Scared people stand nearby a collapsed building after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Port-Au-Prince of Haiti, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010.(Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    MEXICO CITY, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- A major earthquake rocked Haiti on Tuesday and "catastrophic" casualties were feared although no official reports are currently available.

    The magnitude-7.0 quake, the strongest ever recorded in the area, collapsed a hospital in a hillside district of Port-au-Prince, according to local media reports. Full story