Huge casualties feared in Haitian quake, aid pours in

MEXICO CITY, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Haitian President Rene Preval on Wednesday pleaded for assistance after Tuesday's devastating 7.3-magnitude earthquake brought about "unbelievable catastrophe" to his country.

Residents search for victims after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince January 13, 2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

"Parliament has collapsed. The tax office has collapsed. Schools have collapsed. Hospitals have collapsed," he told reporters in a street in Port-au-Prince, the capital of the island state.

"There are a lot of schools that have a lot of dead people in them," said the saddened president, who had been stepping over dead bodies piled in the streets and amid cries of people, who had been injured or bereaved of their beloved ones.

Preval's presidential residence, a domed white building, was also flattened by the quake. Fortunately, the president was not injured.

The temblor, the strongest ever recorded in the region in more than 200 years, may lead to tremendous casualties although it is too early to determine the exact number.

Up to 100,000 people might have died in the quake, said Mauricio Bustamante, operation coordinator of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies based in Panama City.

Official account on the scope of damage was so far scarce. But situations in the country described by witnesses and reporters and confirmed deaths were pointing to an appalling disaster.

At least 16 UN personnel were killed in the earthquake, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday. As this was only a preliminary figure, more deaths were possible, he added.

The UN has said that about 150 of its employees working in Haiti are still unaccounted for, including UN mission chief Hedi Annabi and Ban's deputy special representative Luiz Carlos da Costa.

"Most urgent need is emergency search and rescue," said Ban.