BEIJING, April 28 -- Four IL-76 planes from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force left an airport in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan Province for Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Tuesday, carrying around 90 tonnes of humanitarian materials, military sources said.

The materials, including tents, blankets and power generators, are the first batch of 180 tonnes of goods offered by the Chinese government, according to a statement of the Ministry of National Defense Tuesday.

The Chinese government has pledged to provide the 20-million-yuan (about 3.4 million U.S. dollars) worth of humanitarian aid to Nepal which was struck by an 8.1-magnitude earthquake on Saturday.

The rest would be transported in the following days, according to the statement.

The Ilyushin IL-76 transport aircraft is a multi-purpose four-engine aircraft widely used in Europe, Asia and Africa. It is commonly used in transport, for airborne refueling or as a command center.

Saturday's earthquake has killed at least 4,264 people, injuring 7,000 others in Nepal, according to the National Emergency Operation Center of Nepal's Home Ministry on Tuesday.