IOC Pledges $1 Million In Aid To China Quake Victims

Beijing, China (AHN) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Tuesday that the organization will donate $1 million in relief aid to victims of the strong earthquake that hit the Sichuan province on Monday.

The IOC said the funds will be released to the Beijing Organizing Committee, which will then hand over the money to various relief groups.

"I feel deeply for those affected and join in solidarity with the people of China," IOC President Jacques Rogge said on the Beijing Olympics Web site. "This appears to be a major disaster, the scale of which is only just becoming apparent. We send our deepest felt condolences to the victims and their families."

More than 11,000 people died in the quake in Sichuan province, located some 900 miles southwest of Beijing. The earthquake, which was felt as far away as Vietnam, did not damage any of the Olympic venues in the Chinese capital.