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150 UN Haiti Staffers Missing in Rubble

Mission leader among missing workers feared dead

By Jane Yager,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 14, 2010 4:00 AM CST

(Newser) – About 150 United Nations staffers, including the Haiti mission leader, are feared dead below the rubble of Port-au-Prince in what appears to be the UN's greatest-ever loss of life in a single incident. The deaths of 16 UN workers in Tuesday's massive earthquake have already been confirmed, and "It's clear a high number" of those still missing "might be dead," a top UN official told the Washington Post.

The missing staffers are trapped under the rubble of their collapsed headquarters as well as other UN facilities in Haiti. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said Tuesday's earthquake would likely mark the worst day in UN history, with a death toll surpassing the 44 peacekeepers killed in Congo in 1961 and the 22 who died in a suicide bombing at UN headquarters in Iraq in 2003.

ISearch and rescue efforts at the collapsed UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, where a number of staff members and peacekeepers remain trapped, Jan. 12, 2010.
ISearch and rescue efforts at the collapsed UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, where a number of staff members and peacekeepers remain trapped, Jan. 12, 2010.   (AP Photo/United Nations, Marco Dormino)
Search and rescue efforts at the collapsed UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, where a number of staff members and peacekeepers remain trapped, Jan. 12, 2010.
Search and rescue efforts at the collapsed UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, where a number of staff members and peacekeepers remain trapped, Jan. 12, 2010.   (AP Photo/United Nations, Marco Dormino)
Peacekeepers carrying a survivor out of rubble of the damaged MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010.
Peacekeepers carrying a survivor out of rubble of the damaged MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010.   (AP Photo/UNTV)
A peacekeeper searching for survivors in the rubble of the destroyed MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010.
A peacekeeper searching for survivors in the rubble of the destroyed MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010.   (AP Photo/UNTV)
This still made from video provided by UNTV shows people at the entrance of the damaged MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Jan. 13, 2010.
This still made from video provided by UNTV shows people at the entrance of the damaged MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) headquarters in Port-au-Prince, Jan. 13, 2010.   (AP Photo/UNTV)
The United Nations Security Council stands for a moment of silence, Jan. 13, 2010.
The United Nations Security Council stands for a moment of silence, Jan. 13, 2010.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Search and rescue efforts at the collapsed UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, where a number of staff members and peacekeepers remain trapped, Jan. 12, 2010.
Search and rescue efforts at the collapsed UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince, where a number of staff members and peacekeepers remain trapped, Jan. 12, 2010.   (AP Photo/United Nations, Marco Dormino)
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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
alkaseltzersammich
Jan 14, 2010 5:24 AM CST
Whoever is marking these stories as "hilarious" is seriously fucked up in the head.
professortech
Jan 14, 2010 1:43 AM CST
Agreat tragedy that those most skilled to help in such an emergency are among the first struck down. Our thoughts and contributions go out to the people of Haiti. From the Usaid.gov website For those interesting in helping immediately, simply text "HAITI" to "90999" and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill. or go to http://www.interaction.org/cri... to choose an organization to donate directly to.

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