Russia planned to send a plane carrying emergency workers, trucks, equipment and supplies to Pakistan

Shocked nations sent help Sunday for earthquake-ravaged Pakistan, with China and Japan dispatching emergency teams and promising funds as Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf appealed to the world for help.

The 7.6-magnitude quake that struck Pakistan-controlled Kashmir on Saturday killed at least 19,500 people, mostly in Pakistani territory. India also reported several hundred deaths, and Afghanistan said one girl was killed.

The Associated Press of Pakistan news agency quoted Musharraf as saying Pakistan needed medicine, tents, cargo helicopters and financial assistance to help survivors of the magnitude 7.6 quake that devastated parts of Pakistan and India, killing thousands. Beijing, Tokyo, Moscow and Turkey were also sending Sunday planeloads of emergency response teams, life saving equipment and supplies. A Chinese emergency response team of 50 arrived in Islamabad Sunday bringing search dogs, communication equipment, blankets, medical and relief supplies, a Pakistan Foreign Ministry statement said. A second Chinese planeload of relief goods was due Monday, the statement said.

A Japanese disaster team of 50 was also due in Islamabad late Sunday, according Foreign Ministry official Hisanobu Mochizuki. A medical team was set to follow on Monday, he said.

Russia planned to send a plane carrying emergency workers, trucks, equipment and supplies to last for two weeks to Islamabad from an airfield near Moscow on Sunday, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

The European Union said Saturday that humanitarian agencies were having difficulty reaching the disaster zone, but urged them to go and said the EU would provide financing.

An eight-member U.N. team of top disaster coordination officials was due to arrive in Islamabad on Sunday to plan the global body's response. The British government said it was assessing the damage and search and rescue teams had been put on standby, AP reports.

A.M.

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