A Brazilian military plane flew 30 Brazilians home from quake-struck Chile early Tuesday.

Women, children, old people and members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters (ABL) who were participating in a seminar on children's literature in Chile were among those arriving in Sao Paolo at 2:30 a.m. (0530 GMT).

The passengers said they were running out of food and water when they were evacuated Monday night.

An unspecified number of Brazilians remain in the Chilean capital, Santiago.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva traveled to Santiago Monday afternoon, where he met Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to offer help after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake hit the country Saturday and killed more than 700.

The Brazilian government said it would send a Navy field hospital as well as search and rescue teams to Chile.