A 55-strong team affiliated with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) left for Nepal on Monday morning to help with rescue operations following Saturday's 8.1-magnitude earthquake.

The team arrived via a PLA Air Force plane that departed from Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province. Another team of 45 soldiers will leave for Nepal on Tuesday.

The 100 soldiers are taking with them four sniffer dogs, five recovery vehicles and rescue equipment, including life detectors and entry tools.

They are experienced in earthquake rescue missions and participated in operations for the deadly quakes in Wenchuan and Lushan in Sichuan Province and Ludian in Yunnan Province in recent years.

The team will conduct rescue operations and provide medical aid and psychological counseling after arriving in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital.

The earthquake struck Nepal at 2:11 p.m. Beijing time on Saturday, followed by a second 7.0-magnitude quake at 2:45 p.m. The quake has killed at least 3,218 people, including four Chinese.

Previously, a 62-member Chinese search and rescue team, along with six dogs, arrived in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu on Sunday to become the first international heavy urban search and rescue team in the Himalayan country, according to the China Earthquake Administration.

The rescue team members have experience in dozens of international and domestic earthquake rescue missions, including those for the Wenchuan quake in 2008 and in Japan, Haiti and Pakistan.

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