After days of refusing foreign relief workers, China has accepted offers from four countries to send in rescue teams.

Hours after saying it will accept a Japanese rescue team, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement early Friday that specialist crews from Russia, South Korea, and Singapore would be welcome as well.

The turnabout came as the death toll from Monday's magnitude-7.9 quake soared.

Rescue work has reached a critical stage _ 72 hours after the quake, the chances of survival for people trapped beneath rubble is falling, and the government has vowed not to abandon the search for survivors.

The communist government has for decades refused outside expertise in disaster relief operations, preferring to rely on military mobilizations. After Monday's quake, the government initially said it welcomed foreign aid, money and goods but not international rescue workers.

The Japanese team is made up of firefighters, police, technicians and medical and other personnel; about half of its 61 members arrived in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu early Friday.

A 29-member Russian team, including rescue workers and medical staff, was also preparing to help search for survivors and clear rubble, the Xinhua News Agency said.

South Korea has 41 rescue workers and more than 20 medical staff on standby. The size of the contingent from Singapore was not immediately known. Continued...