Thousands feared dead in Haiti quake

Thousands feared dead in Haiti quake

Written By:BBC , Posted: Wed, Jan 13, 2010

A 7.0-magnitude quake which hit south of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince is feared to have killed hundreds of people across the Caribbean country.

In the space of a minute, Haiti's worst quake in two centuries wrecked the Headquarters of the UN mission, the national palace and numerous other buildings.

A "large number" of UN personnel were reported missing by the organisation.

Describing it as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the US said the cost of the damage could run into billions.

The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude.

The tremor hit at 1653 (2153 GMT), the US Geological Survey said. Phone lines to the country failed shortly afterwards.

Aid workers and reporters at the scene estimated the number of dead to be in the hundreds or even thousands.

Vehicles ferrying the injured to hospital were hampered by rubble blocking the capital's streets.

Bodies, white with dust, could be seen piled on the back of a pick-up truck.

As the poorest country in the western hemisphere, Haiti is likely to need international aid in order to cope with the quake's impact.

'Three million affected'

In a statement issued in New York, the UN said that its local HQ in Haiti had "sustained serious damage along with other UN installations" and "a large number" of personnel were missing.

UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said it was unclear how many people had been inside the building.

The UN's stabilisation mission plays a vital role in ensuring security in Haiti.

Raymond Joseph, Haiti's ambassador to the US, said the presidential palace, the tax office, the ministry of commerce and the foreign ministry had all been damaged, but the airport was intact.

He and Haiti's ambassador to Mexico, Robert Manuel, both said that President Rene Preval and his wife had survived the quake.

The World Bank, which said its local offices were destroyed but that most staff were accounted for, planned to send a team to help Haiti assess damage and plan a recovery, Reuters reported.

Mike Blanpied of the US Geological Survey said that, based on the location and size of the quake, about three million people would have been severely shaken by its impact.

US President Barack Obama said in a statement that his "thoughts and prayers" were with the people of Haiti and America stood ready to assist them.

In the minutes after the quake, Henry Bahn, a visiting official from the US Department of Agriculture, said he had seen houses which had tumbled into a ravine.