46 UN staff killed in Haiti quake
By IANSMonday, January 18, 2010
UNITED NATIONS - At least 46 staff of the UN were killed in the devastating earthquake that rocked the Haitian capital of Port-au Prince last week, the global organisation said Monday.
“The death toll for the UN as a whole is 46,” UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said, adding that more than 500 others still missing.
The world body made it clear that the figure of “missing or unaccounted for” includes local staff who may have survived but have not been contacted, Xinhua reported.
More than 50,000 people were believed to have died in the magnitude-7.3 quake that struck the island country Jan 12. Haitian officials said it was the strongest earthquake in the country in more than 200 years.
The Christopher Hotel in Port-au-Prince, which houses the UN headquarters in Haiti, and other buildings hosting the world body’s offices collapsed in the tremors.
