By IRNA,
Kuala Lumpur : As the situation worsens for survivors of Myanmar’s cyclone the UN has resumed aid flights to the country.
They were suspended after two deliveries were impounded by the country’s authorities.
A first plane loaded with supplies has arrived in Yangon but how and by whom it will by distributed remains unclear. The government has so far refused to let in foreign aid workers.
UN spokesman Richard Horsey said, “We’re running out of time here.
There is a huge risk that diarrhoeal disease, cholera and so on could start to spread, because there is a lack of clean drinking water, a lack of sanitation facilities. This could be a huge problem and it could lead to a second phase which could be as deadly as the cyclone.”
The UN has made an appeal to the international community for aid donations even though it is unsure if supplies will get to those most in need.
Officials figures still put the death toll at 23,000 but the final number is expected to be several times that.