MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- FedEx Express says it has teamed with the humanitarian group Heart to Heart International Inc. to deliver the first private airlift of relief supplies to China following a massive earthquake in Sichuan Province.

Memphis-based FedEx Corp., parent company of FedEx Express, announced Friday that a FedEx MD-11 cargo plane carrying nearly 70 tons of humanitarian aid left Kansas City on Friday afternoon.

The cargo is valued at about $1.5 million and is expected to arrive early Sunday.

With the delivery, Kansas City-based Heart to Heart will be able to help millions of people over the next several months throughout Sichuan Province, which was hit by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake on May 12.

FedEx says 44 of its employees were involved with the flight, which left Memphis for Kansas City on Friday morning before heading for China.

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