By IRNA,
New York : More than 10,000 people were killed in a devastating cyclone that hit western Burma, Foreign Minister Nyan Win said on state TV Monday night.
He said his government was ready to accept international assistance.
Thousands of survivors of Cyclone Nargis are lacking shelter, drinking water, power and communications.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his sadness at the scale of the disaster.
He said that UN officials were meeting Burmese government representatives to discuss how to help.
If the toll is confirmed, Nargis is now the world’s deadliest storm since a 1999 cyclone in India killed 10,000 people.
Nargis hit the south-east Asian country on Saturday with wind speeds reaching 190km/h.
It brought with it a sea surge that smashed through towns and villages.
Earlier on Monday, the death toll was being put at 351 but the foreign minister later went on TV to announce the figure of at least 10,000.
With information still coming in, he warned the toll could yet rise.