UNITED NATIONS, (Reuters) – Several bodies were pulled from the wreckage of the U.N. headquarters in Haiti, which collapsed during a deadly earthquake, and over 100 U.N. staff members were missing, U.N. officials said today.
U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters that the damage was vast and “tens, if not hundreds of thousands of homes” had been damaged in the earthquake, which struck at 5 p.m. yesterday.
U.N. peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy, told reporters that fewer than 10 people, “some dead, some alive,” had been extracted from the rubble of the 5-story U.N. headquarters building but more than 100 remained unaccounted for.
Earlier, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the missing included the chief of the U.N. mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, and his deputy, but he could not confirm reports that they had died. Annabi was meeting a visiting Chinese police delegation at the time, U.N. officials said.
The U.N. mission, known as MINUSTAH, was headquartered in the former Christopher Hotel in the capital Port-au-Prince, where administrative staff worked. Most of MINUSTAH’s 9,000 troops and police were located elsewhere.
U.N. humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes told reporters that 3-3.5 million people were living in areas affected by severe shaking during the earthquake and its aftershocks. It was not clear how many people had died.
“Initial reports suggest a high number of casualties,” Holmes said.
The main priority, Holmes said, was search-and-rescue operations to find and extract buried people. He said a Chinese team had arrived at the airport in Port-au-Prince and that two U.S. teams were expected later today.
Further search-and-rescue teams were expected to arrive from France, Iceland and the neighboring Dominican Republic in the near future, he said.
Ban said he would send Le Roy’s deputy, Edmond Mulet, to Haiti, possibly as early tomorrow, and that a U.N. emergency response team would also head there as soon as possible.
The U.N. chief also said $10 million would be released immediately from the world body’s central emergency response fund to assist aid efforts.
Holmes said the United Nations would organize a flash appeal to raise more emergency funds for Haiti over the next few days.
