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Two Chinese got killed and 13 others were injured in the catastrophic Tsunami occurred in South and Southeast Asia, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said on Thursday.
At a routine news briefing, Liu noted that the victims include one from Hong Kong Special Administration Region (SAR) and another from Taiwan province.
Among those injured, three come from Hong Kong SAR, four from the national capital of Beijing, three from Zhejiang Province and two from Shanghai in east China, and one from Yunnan Province in the country's southwest, Liu said.
Chinese consulates in the concerned countries of the region will offer help to any stranded Chinese in the disaster-hit region, Liu noted.
More than 5,000 foreigners have reportedly died or gone missing so far in the tsunami triggered by deadly tremor in the Indian Ocean in Dec. 26, and most of them are tourists.
The Chinese government announced that it is sending a rescue team to tsunami-ravaged Indonesia Thursday to help emergency aid efforts.
According to the State Seismological Bureau, the team will comprise 30 experienced members with rescue equipment and related goods.
"This is the third time that the Chinese International Rescue Team has gone overseas for emergency rescue aid move. It was sent to Algeria and Iran in 2003 when they were tremored by devastating earthquakes," said Zhao Heping, deputy director general of the Bureau and also head of the team.
The bureau also sent a member to Sri Lanka to assist the United Nations personnel to evaluate the disaster, he said.
On Dec. 26, a tsunami, caused by an 8.7 magnitude earthquake, rock many coastal countries in south and southeast Asia and Africa. According to reports, deadly tidal waves have killed at least 80,000 local residents and tourists. In Indonesia, the death toll has reached 33,000.
(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2004)
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