14 peacekeepers killed in Haiti quake
By DPA, IANSWednesday, January 13, 2010
NEW YORK - UN officials in New York confirmed Wednesday that 14 peacekeepers were killed by the earthquakes that struck Haiti and caused widespread damage.
Among the dead, 10 are Brazilian soldiers, three are Jordanian soldiers and one is a civilian.
Alain LeRoy, undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations, said the UN expects the death toll of UN personnel to rise in coming days because of the estimated 50 to 100 personnel still unaccounted for.
The head of the UN mission in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, and his deputy are still unaccounted for. Both were in a hotel that housing other UN personnel when the quakes struck Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s very likely that they are under the rubbles (of the hotel), but we cannot confirm that they have died,” LeRoy told reporters.
Edmond Mullet, a UN undersecretary general, was dispatched from UN headquarters in New York to be acting chief of the UN mission in Haiti. Mullet was scheduled to arrive Thursday in Port-au-Prince.
