The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said late Monday it will offer every possible assistance to the victims of the major earthquake that occurred in the Chinese mainland's Sichuan Province on Monday afternoon.

According to a press release from the Information Services Department of HKSAR government, it will closely monitor the situation and the disaster inflicted by the earthquake.

The HKSAR government will respond quickly to the latest development in the disaster areas and offer every possible assistance to those places, the press release said.

The HKSAR government also said it will cooperate with related departments in the mainland in the disaster-relief work.

The quake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale, jolted Wenchuan County at 2:28 p.m. on Monday, according to the China Seismological Bureau.

(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2008)