The Ministry of Industry and Information on Tuesday ordered that 350 sets of satellite communications facilities be sent to the quake-hit Sichuan Province to help rescue and relief work.

The equipment was provided by the state-owned China Satellite Communications Corp.(China Satcom). Of the total, 180 sets were dispatched to an emergency command set up on Monday at Dujiangyan, a city northwest of the provincial capital Chengdu.

Monday's strong earthquake cut telephone and Internet links between the quake-hit regions in Sichuan and the outside world.

The road from Dujiangyan to the quake epicenter in Wenchuan was blocked by rocks and mudslides, holding up rescue, medical and other disaster relief teams.

The other 170 sets were sent to the provincial public security department on request of the local government.

China Satcom said it had speeded up imports of satellite facilities to ensure supply.

China Satcom is one of the country's six major basic telecommunications operators.

China Telecom and China Netcom, both leading fixed-line operators, have dispatched emergency teams with maritime satellite phones, short-wave transceivers and switchboards to Sichuan.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2008)