

MSN NEWS
pa.press.net, Updated: 13/01/2010 15:58
'Thousands dead' in Haiti quake
Rescuers carry an injured person after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti (AP)
Thousands of people are feared dead after a powerful earthquake struck Haiti's capital, leaving tens of thousands homeless and buried beneath rubble.
Dead and injured lay in the streets of Port-au-Prince after the earthquake hit the impoverished Caribbean country on Tuesday, toppling a range of structures including the United Nations building - where everyone in the building at the time is feared dead - and the presidential palace.
The tremor, measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale, struck at 4.53pm (2153 GMT) about 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince at a depth of five miles and is said to be the most powerful to hit the country in more than 200 years.
Journalists based in Port-au-Prince said the damage from the quake - the most powerful to hit Haiti in more than 200 years - was staggering even in a country accustomed to tragedy and disaster.
The scope of the disaster remained unclear early on Wednesday, and even a rough estimate of the number of casualties was impossible. But it was clear from a tour of the capital that tens of thousands of people had lost their homes and that many had perished. Many buildings in Haiti are flimsy and dangerous even under normal conditions.
The headquarters of the 9,000-member Haiti peacekeeping mission and other UN installations were seriously damaged, according to Alain Le Roy, the UN peacekeeping chief in New York. "Contacts with the UN on the ground have been severely hampered," Mr Le Roy said in a statement, adding: "For the moment, a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for."
President Rene Preval and his wife survived the earthquake, according to Robert Manuel, Haiti's ambassador to Mexico. He said he had no other details.
Karel Zelenka, a Roman Catholic Relief Services representative in Port-au-Prince, told US colleagues before the phone service failed that "there must be thousands of people dead," according to a spokeswoman for the aid group, Sara Fajardo. "He reported that it was just total disaster and chaos, that there were clouds of dust surrounding Port-au-Prince," Ms Fajardo said from the group's offices in Maryland.
US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said in Washington that US Embassy personnel were "literally in the dark" after power failed. "They reported structures down. They reported a lot of walls down. They did see a number of bodies in the street and on the sidewalk that had been hit by debris. So clearly, there's going to be serious loss of life in this," he said.
The International Federation of the Red Cross later estimated that up to three million people have been affected by the earthquake. Spokesman Paul Conneally said the fact that the quake occurred very close to Port-au-Prince was "not a good indicator".
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