Burma cyclone toll tops 138 000 dead and missing

More than 84 000 people died in last month’s deadly cyclone, while nearly 54 000 are still missing, a Burma official said on Tuesday, raising the government’s estimate of the casualties.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu told a meeting of officials from the government, the United Nations and South-East Asian countries that 84 537 were killed and 53 836 missing.

About 20 000 people were also injured when the storm pounded the country on May 2 and 3, Kyaw Thu said.

The officials were meeting in Rangoon to discuss the findings of a 250-member assessment team, which includes UN aid experts and relief workers from the Association of South-East Asian Nations.

After weeks of delays, the team was allowed to enter the hardest-hit parts of the Irrawaddy Delta on June 5.

The UN estimates that 2,4-million people need humanitarian aid in the wake of the storm, but restrictions imposed by the military regime have slowed delivery of the assistance.—AFP