MANDALAY, Myanmar, March 30 -- A squad of Chinese volunteers started rescue operations Sunday after they arrived in Mandalay, a Myanmar city severely hit Friday in a 7.7-magnitude earthquake.

The Blue Sky Rescue (BSR) team is to provide assistance in disaster relief and rescue efforts. Members of the team have started assessment work about damage at quake scenes immediately upon arrival.

The volunteers departed from Southwest China's Yunnan Province on Saturday morning.

Another rescue team sent by Yunnan Province arrived in Myanmar earlier on Saturday morning. The team has started work in Nay Pyi Taw, another badly-affected Myanmar city.

Myanmar's authorities said late on Saturday that 1,644 people have died, 3,408 were injured and 139 remained missing in the earthquake in Myanmar, according to the Information Team of the State Administration Council on Saturday night.