The extent of the devastation from a huge quake in Haiti is slowly emerging, with a number of UN peacekeepers among thousands of people feared dead.
Jordan, Brazil and China have all reported deaths. UN chief Ban Ki-moon said the head of the UN mission in Haiti and his deputy were missing. The 7.0-magnitude quake, Haiti's worst in two centuries, struck south of the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Tuesday. The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected.
I'm quite sure we're going to face a disaster of major proportion
Raymond Joseph,Haiti's ambassador to the US
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Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the US said the cost of the damage could run into billions of dollars.
A number of nations, including the US, UK and Venezuela, are gearing up to send aid.
The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude.
The first tremor had hit at 1653 local time (2153 GMT) on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. Phone lines to the country failed shortly afterwards.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the UN HQ had collapsed "and it would appear that all those who were in the building, including my friend [UN mission head] Hedi Annabi... and all those who were with him and around him are dead".
Ban Ki-moon: 'We are facing a major humanitarian emergency'
Speaking on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon confirmed the Tunisian head of the UN mission in Haiti and his deputy were missing, along with many other UN workers.
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