SINGAPORE : 260,000 rice sticks will be sent by the Singapore Red Cross to its sister organisation in China as part of emergency relief operations in the quake-hit area.

These rice sticks, which do not require heating or water for consumption, come in a variety of flavours, like chicken char siew with egg yolk or chicken with mushrooms.

The food packs, worth over S$200,000 will be delivered directly from the supplier's factory in Dalian to the Red Cross Society of China.

To date, the Singapore Red Cross said it has collected about S$650,000 through cash and cheque donations.

Separately, the Red Cross said it has received almost S$2 million for victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

It sent S$700,000 worth of emergency relief items to Myanmar on Friday, and will be sending another batch of relief items to its sister society in Myanmar.

These include 1,000 rubber boots and 1,000 torchlights.

The Society's Secretary-General, Christopher Chua, has been invited to a meeting on Thursday in Yangon, to coordinate relief aid with various foreign humanitarian aid agencies.

Meanwhile, its application to deploy an eight-member medical relief team is being processed by the Health Minister. - CNA/ms