Haiti - earthquake

Thousands feared dead, says Haiti's President Rene Preval

Article published on the 2010-01-13 Latest update 2010-01-13 18:09 TU

Injured people rest outside Port-au-Prince's cathedral after the earthquake
(Credit: Reuters)

Thousands of people are feared dead in the wake of the massive earthquake in Haiti's capital Port au Prince, Haiti's President Rene Preval said Wednesday as he issued an urgent plea for international help. First Lady Elisabeth Preval told the Miami Herald newspaper that dead bodies litter the streets.

"A lot of people are buried under buildings. The general hospital has collapsed," she said. "We need support. We need help. We need engineers," she added.

The only hospital operating in Port au Prince is an Argentine-staffed hospital, the hospital's director Daniel Desimone told Todo Noticias daily.

Desimone said that the hospital cannot cope with the influx of people.

"More than 80 people have been cared for, mostly women and children," he said. "A lot of children were left by their parents at the hospital, when the parents were going back out to search for family members," he added.

Anne Rose, an eyewitness who lives in the suburbs of Port au Prince, told RFI what she saw in the street.

"There are a lot of dead bodies on the ground, partly covered up or not covered up. There are a lot of houses with cracks or breaks or half destroyed. I saw the Citybank building completely destroyed and I haven't seen any organised rescue help. I've just seen people who are trying to find out what has happened," she said.

"I reckon 40 per cent of Port au Prince is either destroyed or very damaged. People are in the street - they're afraid to go into their houses," she added.

"There were people sitting on the roof and I was told that there were people on the inside. There are other buildings where there are still people trapped on the inside."

Among the missing are as many as 200 United Nations staff, according to the UN spokesperson in Haiti, Elizabeth Byers.

"Our headquarters has collapsed," Nick Burnback, press officer for the UN's Department of Peacekeeping, told RFI.

"A number of additional premises where there are international staff located have also been severely damaged or completely compromised."

The head of the UN's peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Hédi Annabi, and his deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa, are among those unaccounted for, Burnback said.