United Nations Radio

The top UN official for humanitarian affairs has expressed sadness by the massive death toll of the collapsed school building in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Under Secretary-general John Holmes in a statement Monday expressed his condolences to the relatives and friends of the children and teachers who lost their lives in the accident.

He also appealed for calm in Port-Au-Prince to give rescuers time to do their work.

The UN Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) says the official Haitian Civil Protection Unit has put the number of dead at 92 - with 150 people wounded. Some 260 people were reported to be in the building when it collapsed on Friday.

Meanwhile, search and rescue operations by UN peacekeepers, local and international teams continue.

And the UN special envoy for Haiti, Hedi Annabi, has warned against any rash action to put heavy demolition equipment to work.

He says "as long as there remains a chance to find survivors, one must hold back on using heavy equipment.".

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

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