BEIJING, May 29, (APP) The Pakistan mobile medical team has started relief operation for the affectees of May 12 devastating earthquake soon after reaching Lanzhou, the capital city of northwestern Chinese Gansu province on Thursday.

The medical team and relief goods sent by Pakistan will further cement Sino-Pakistan relations, said the Vice-Governor of Gansu, Ms Xian Hui while receiving the Pakistan medical mission at the airport.

She pointed out that the people and government of China are grateful to the People and leadership of Pakistan for sending relief and medical team to her country in this hour of need.

Ms. Xian said that the medical team from Pakistan will play an important role to augment medical assistance to the quake-affected people.

The Pakistani medical team is also carrying along five metric tons of medicines and other medical equipment.

The medical team is part of the ongoing relief assistance that the Government of Pakistan has extended to the victims of the May 12 earthquake in southwestern China.

Speaking on the occasion, Counsellor Press and Culture Mohammad Iftikhar Raja said that the medical team included highly professional doctors, surgeons and paramedics.

"The assistance extended by China during 2005 devastated earthquake that struck parts of our country is still fresh in our memories," Raja said.

He said that Pakistan's assistance was a humble contribution and an effort to support its time-tested friend in its time of need.

Areas in the Gansu province were also hit by an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale on May 12 with its epicenter in Wenchuan County, Sichuan province in southwestern China.

It may be noted that Pakistan is among the nine other countries that have sent medical staff for working in China's quake-hit areas, according to Chinese Ministry of Health.

Besides, Pakistan the other countries are Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, Britain, France, Cuba and Indonesia, said the Director of Ministry's Emergency Response Chen Xianyi.

He pointed out that the medical staff from these nine countries is very helpful in providing medical aid to the earthquake-affected people.  Pakistan has earlier sent four C-130 planes carrying 500 blankets, 780 tents, 1000 plastic mats, 3 metric tons of mineral water and 4 metric tons medicines to Chengdu and Lanzhou, while a convey of 16 trucks loaded with 6000 tents had already left Islamabad for Kashgar, China via Khunjerab on May 21, said Pakistan's Charge d'Affairs Abdul Salik Khan.

In addition to the above supplies, 11900 tents were airlifted by the Chinese authorities from Karachi from May 23-26.