Two giant Russian Il-76 planes left Moscow for Sri Lanka early Monday, carrying 25 tons of humanitarian aid, including tents and other emergency supplies, plus a helicopter and rescue experts, the Russian emergencies ministry told ITAR-TASS news agency.

Russia also plans to send aid to Indonesia, where around 4,725 people were confirmed dead, mostly in the province of Aceh.

Other countries preferred to send teams of specialists to assess the scale of the damage before following up with material aid.

Many of the countries which pledged cash and assistance had lost citizens swept away as they holidayed in beach resorts in the hit countries.

But the bulk of the dead were residents of coastal towns inundated by waves more than 10 meters high and fishermen living in flimsy housing along the shores of the Indian Ocean.

The first United Nations disaster relief teams were also sent to Sri Lanka, one of the nations worst hit with more than 10,897 people confirmed dead.

“This is the first step in what will surely be a larger United Nations response to catastrophic losses suffered as a result of earthquakes and tidal waves,” said Jan Egeland, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the stricken countries needed portable sanitation facilities, medical supplies, tents and helicopters to evacuate people.

Teams from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) were also assessing damage.

“The power of this earthquake, and its huge geographical reach, are just staggering,” said UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy.

“Hundreds of thousands of children in coastal communities in six countries may be in serious jeopardy,” she said.

A spokesman for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called the waves “catastrophic” and said Annan had been “profoundly saddened to learn of the massive loss of life and destruction.”

The European Union gave immediate aid of three million euros (four million dollars) and promised more.

A French government plane was to take about 100 doctors, rescue specialists and communications experts to Sri Lanka Monday.

Germany announced that it was sending one million euros (1.35 million dollars) of aid to the stricken region and was working with humanitarian groups.

Ireland also released one million euros.

Britain sent two experts to join UN crisis assessment teams and pledged 100,000 dollars to fund a World Health Organization crisis response team.

Greece was sending two military C-130 cargo planes to Madras in India with more than six tons of aid along with doctors and rescuers, and had released aid of 150,000 euros for each country.

Shock and disbelief in India. (AFP)

Pakistan said it would send tents, medicine and water to Sri Lanka, while the Indian government, which has set up a huge operation to help people on its southern coasts, was also offering food and medicine to its neighbor.

Iran, where some 31,000 people were killed in the southern city of Bam exactly a year before the Asian disaster, would also do what it could to help, President Mohammad Khatami said.

Turkey, another earthquake-prone country, promised assistance while Kuwait offered one million dollars.

Australia offered 10 million dollars (7.6 million euros) in aid, and dispatched two military C-130 transport planes with drinking water and other supplies to a staging base in Malaysia.

“I stress that this is an initial contribution,” Australian Prime Minister John Howard said. “Australia will and should give more.”

Canada's International Development Minister Aileen Carroll, meanwhile, said Ottawa would send an initial contribution of one million Canadian dollars in aid (820,000 US) through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

A White House statement said Washington “stands ready to offer all appropriate assistance to those nations most affected including Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as the other countries impacted.”

Japan sent a 20-member medical team, including four physicians and seven nurses, to Sri Lanka and promised more aid was on the way.

“We must provide care for physical injuries and infectious diseases,” said Hiroyuki Yokota, deputy head of the team, told reporters before leaving.

“While securing our own safety, we want to be of help to the affected people,” Yokota said.

The Philippines, which was spared by the waves but recently lost 1,800 killed in devastating storms, will send “a small humanitarian contingent to where it is most needed -- to participate in rescue efforts to help treat the wounded and uplift the communities,” President Gloria Arroyo said.

Rescue operations continue in Thailand. (AFP)

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