SEOUL - SOUTH Korea will send a rescue team to quake-hit south-western China later on Friday to help search for victims of the disaster, the foreign ministry said here.

The 44-strong team will leave here at 1.50pm (12.50pm) for Chengdu, capital of China's Sichuan province, the ministry said in a statement.

South Korea will send emergency aid including 1,300 tents and 5,000 quilts on Sunday, the statement also said.

Beijing has also accepted offers from Russia, Japan and Singapore to send emergency workers, China state media has said, signalling a shift in Beijing's stance after it had previously ruled out a need for foreign teams.

Japanese rescue workers arrived early on Friday in China and were headed for a stricken town near the epicentre of Monday's quake, state media said.

A China foreign ministry official was quoted earlier as saying it marked the first time Beijing had accepted foreign professionals for a domestic disaster rescue and relief operation.

On Thursday, South Korean firms and banks pledged to donate aid worth about US$2.43 million (S$3.33 million) for victims of the devastating earthquake.

The 7.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Sichuan province has left tens of thousands of people dead, missing or trapped. -- AFP