UN reels as casualty number set to increase
Source: Agencies |
January 15, 2010, Friday
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UP to 200 international United Nations staff in Haiti, including peacekeepers, remain unaccounted for after its headquarters and other buildings collapsed in the Port-au-Prince earthquake.
"Between 50 to 100 MINUSTAH (peacekeeping) staff are believed trapped in the building. In total, between 115 and 200 are unaccounted for, but it is an estimate from last night," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told Reuters yesterday.
The fate of Haitian nationals employed locally by the UN was unknown and was also of concern, she said.
On Wednesday, the UN said at least 16 at its peacekeeping mission, including 11 Brazilian soldiers, had died when its headquarters at the Christopher Hotel collapsed. It predicted the toll would soar.
Haitian President Rene Preval has said that the head of the peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, was killed, but the UN has not confirmed that.
Airport damaged
MINUSTAH employs nearly 11,000 people, 9,000 troops and police, but also 490 international and local civilian staff, according to Corinne Momal-Vanian, chief UN spokeswoman in Geneva.
Several hundred international staff work for UN aid agencies including the UN Development Programme, UN Children's Fund and the World Health Organization.
"This is a tragedy for the UN as well as the Haitian people," Byrs said. "The priority is to save lives, get people out of the rubble and treat the wounded. Every hour counts."
The capital's airport was open for humanitarian flights, with only line-of-sight landings as the air-control tower was damaged, she said.
The port was not operational as cranes were destroyed, the wharf damaged, and debris was submerged in water, posing a danger to US cargo ships on their way, Byrs said.
"Between 50 to 100 MINUSTAH (peacekeeping) staff are believed trapped in the building. In total, between 115 and 200 are unaccounted for, but it is an estimate from last night," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told Reuters yesterday.
The fate of Haitian nationals employed locally by the UN was unknown and was also of concern, she said.
On Wednesday, the UN said at least 16 at its peacekeeping mission, including 11 Brazilian soldiers, had died when its headquarters at the Christopher Hotel collapsed. It predicted the toll would soar.
Haitian President Rene Preval has said that the head of the peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, was killed, but the UN has not confirmed that.
Airport damaged
MINUSTAH employs nearly 11,000 people, 9,000 troops and police, but also 490 international and local civilian staff, according to Corinne Momal-Vanian, chief UN spokeswoman in Geneva.
Several hundred international staff work for UN aid agencies including the UN Development Programme, UN Children's Fund and the World Health Organization.
"This is a tragedy for the UN as well as the Haitian people," Byrs said. "The priority is to save lives, get people out of the rubble and treat the wounded. Every hour counts."
The capital's airport was open for humanitarian flights, with only line-of-sight landings as the air-control tower was damaged, she said.
The port was not operational as cranes were destroyed, the wharf damaged, and debris was submerged in water, posing a danger to US cargo ships on their way, Byrs said.
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