People load relief materials at Lukou International Airport in Nanjing, the capital of East China's Jiangsu province, April 27, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Air Force planes transport earthquake aid to Nepal

Four IL-76 planes from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force left an airport in Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province for Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Tuesday, carrying around 90 tons of humanitarian materials, military sources said.

The materials, including tents, blankets and power generators, are the first batch of 180 tons of goods offered by the Chinese government, according to a statement of the Ministry of National Defense Tuesday.

The Chinese government has pledged to provide the 20-million-yuan (about $3.4 million) worth of humanitarian aid to Nepal which was struck by an 8.1-magnitude earthquake on Saturday.

The rest would be transported in the following days, according to the statement.

The first patch of four IL-76 transportation planes were dispatched to Nepal on Monday and the planes were already put into use for rescue work in quake-stricken Nepal.