SINGAPORE, May 16 (Reuters) - Singapore is sending a team of 55 rescue workers to China's earthquake-ravaged Sichuan province, where more than 50,000 people may have been killed, the government said on Friday.

Singapore's foreign affairs ministry said China had requested help, and that the team would leave on Friday for Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu.

Chinese state media said on Thursday the death toll from the quake could soar to more than 50,000. Some 20,000 are confirmed dead after Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake, and 25,000 were buried in areas rescuers have struggled to reach due to landslides, buckled roads and collapsed bridges. [nSP209165]

Singapore, where around three quarters of the population is ethnic Chinese, has always enjoyed warm ties with China. (Reporting by Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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