Haiti earthquake death toll could reach 200,000

Jerusalem, Jan 16 (ANI): Haiti's Interior Minister Paul Antoine Bien-Aime has said that death toll from the earthquake in the country could reach 200,000.

"We have already collected around 50,000 dead bodies we anticipate there will be between 100,000 and 200,000 dead in total, although we will never know the exact number," he said.

An Israeli aid delegation landed in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince on Friday night.

Around 220 soldiers and officers are in the delegation, including 120 medical staff that will operate an emergency field hospital. An IDF plane loaded with equipment was expected to land shortly after the staff, The Jerusalem Post reports.

On Friday, Haiti's Government agreed to grant temporary control of the nation's main airport to the United States to speed earthquake relief work, the State Department said.

Prime Minister (Jean-Max) Bellerive signed a memorandum of understanding granting airport control to the United States, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

Three days after an earthquake shattered Haiti, leaving thousands of dead on the impoverished island, rescue and aid groups continued to descend on the Caribbean nation, seeking to bring in food, water and medical supplies.

Facing ruins inside the country, groups - including an Israeli delegation - made their way by air and by road via Santo Domingo, with aid convoys struggling to reach thousands of injured Haitians, who quickly were running out of food and water.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that up to 50 percent of the buildings in Haiti's capital and other areas hardest hit by the earthquake have been damaged or destroyed. (ANI)