Fourteen Taiwan tourists left quake-hit Sichuan Province for home on Tuesday.

They took off aboard a chartered flight from Chengdu, the provincial capital, in the afternoon after being stranded for nearly a week in a village hit by the devastating earthquake.

The 14, including five aged about 75, were transported to Chengdu by helicopter on Sunday and Monday from the village, which was close to the epicenter of Wenchuan County.

Medical check-ups showed that none of them had serious health problems.

The crew of Taiwan's first rescue team that has been working in Sichuan for disaster relief was also on the home-bound flight, which transported a second group inward to continue the mission in Sichuan earlier in the day.

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2008)