An SAR government rescue team is on its way to quake-hit Mandalay in Myanmar.

The 51-strong team, including firefighters, doctors and nurses, had earlier arrived in the country's capital, Naypyidaw.

There, they rested briefly at the Myanmar National Centre for Disease Control and met diplomats from the Chinese embassy.

While they originally planned to work in Naypyidaw, Myanmar officials asked them to go to Mandalay instead – which is near the epicentre of the 7.7-magnitude quake on Friday.

The rescue squad departed overnight but had to pause their journey due to a night curfew on the roads, according to a Facebook post by the Security Bureau on Monday.