Loaded in 14 vehicles, 85 tonnes of grain and oil arrived in Yingxiu town of Sichuan Province on Sunday afternoon, the first batch of relief goods transported by road to the area worst hit by Monday's quake.

The relief materials would greatly alleviated the town's food shortage, rescue authorities said. Previously, relief goods had to be delivered by yachts through a reservoir.

Yingxiu was in Wenchuan County, epicenter of the 8.0-magnitude quake which had left 31,900 dead and more than 209,900 people injured in Sichuan alone as of 4 p.m. Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2008)