ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: The massive earthquake in Haiti's also collapsed United Nations peacekeeping headquarters and scores of UN staff are dead or missing, United Nations Expert Advisor on Human Rights, Mr. Ansar Burney said on Thursday.
Tuesday's magnitude 7.0 quakes hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The full scale of the damage is yet unknown, but the death toll nationwide is expected to climb into thousands and thousands.
Burney has said that UN operations in Haiti consist of about 7,000 peacekeeping troops, 2,000 international police, 490 international civilian staffers, 1,200 local civilian staffers and 200 volunteers. “The force was installed in Haiti in 2004, after a bloody rebellion and decades of violence and poverty.” UN Expert Advisor, Mr. Burney added.
He said that thousands are still missing including the chief of the U.N. mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, but it is not confirm yet that Annabi had died. Mr. Burney said some 100 - 150 people were in the UN building when the quake struck. He said that several bodies had already been recovered from the wreckage of the U.N. headquarters.
He said till now it was unclear as to how many staffers were in the UN mission's headquarters when the earthquake struck at the end of the workday Tuesday afternoon. “Between 200 and 250 people normally work there, Ansar Burney said.
Ansar Burney said that on Wednesday and Thursday, UN troops worked feverishly to rescue people from the wreckage of UN five-story building, but no one has been rescued from this main headquarters.
He said that other United Nations stations in Haiti were also damaged, including the headquarters of the UN Development Program in Haiti, where many people were wounded. A UN logistical base near the Port-au-Prince airport and a UN hospital were also damaged.
"There are many, many people trapped in the rubble," said Ansar Burney. "We're not optimistic at the moment." He added. INP
Tuesday's magnitude 7.0 quakes hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The full scale of the damage is yet unknown, but the death toll nationwide is expected to climb into thousands and thousands.
Burney has said that UN operations in Haiti consist of about 7,000 peacekeeping troops, 2,000 international police, 490 international civilian staffers, 1,200 local civilian staffers and 200 volunteers. “The force was installed in Haiti in 2004, after a bloody rebellion and decades of violence and poverty.” UN Expert Advisor, Mr. Burney added.
He said that thousands are still missing including the chief of the U.N. mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, but it is not confirm yet that Annabi had died. Mr. Burney said some 100 - 150 people were in the UN building when the quake struck. He said that several bodies had already been recovered from the wreckage of the U.N. headquarters.
He said till now it was unclear as to how many staffers were in the UN mission's headquarters when the earthquake struck at the end of the workday Tuesday afternoon. “Between 200 and 250 people normally work there, Ansar Burney said.
Ansar Burney said that on Wednesday and Thursday, UN troops worked feverishly to rescue people from the wreckage of UN five-story building, but no one has been rescued from this main headquarters.
He said that other United Nations stations in Haiti were also damaged, including the headquarters of the UN Development Program in Haiti, where many people were wounded. A UN logistical base near the Port-au-Prince airport and a UN hospital were also damaged.
"There are many, many people trapped in the rubble," said Ansar Burney. "We're not optimistic at the moment." He added. INP
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