Haiti quake most serious humanitarian crisis

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has described the catastrophe in the Central American nation as the “most serious humanitarian crisis” faced by the United Nations in Decades.

“I am going to Haiti with a very heavy heart to express solidarity and full support of the UN to the people of Haiti,” the UN secretary-general told journalists accompanying him on the day-long trip to the disaster zone on Sunday, AFP reported.

“We have to prepare for the worst,” Ban added, referring to UN employees still missing after the disaster that flattened much of the capital Port-au-Prince and nearby towns in western Haiti.

On Saturday, Hedi Annabi, the Algerian head of the UN mission in Haiti, was found in the rubble. The bodies of his deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa and Doug Coates, who served as chief of the UN police force in Haiti, were also recovered from the toppled Christopher Hotel, where the mission was headquartered.

Haitian Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime says the death toll the magnitude-7.0 earthquake that hit the nation could reach 200,000.

It is difficult for rescuers to provide the survivors the aid supplies as the poor country’s infrastructure like ports, airports and roads are either ruined or badly damaged.

According to the UN chief the first priorities of the world body is to rescue as many people as possible, bring emergency humanitarian aid in the form of water, food and medication, and coordinate the massive aid effort.

By Saturday, more than 70 people were pulled out alive. Aftershocks continue to rattle the capital as survivors are in urgent need of aid.

Meanwhile, amid desperation and hunger, Haitian police have opened fire on a group of looters, killing one of them.