Aid Pours Into Asia, Not Reaching Tsunami Victims [View All]

[Be Brave]

Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:17 AM ET

By Michael Perry

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Hundreds of tons of emergency supplies of tarpaulins, water purification systems, food and medicines poured into Asia on Thursday, but little was reaching injured, sick and hungry tsunami survivors.

Some survivors have seen no aid since the tsunami struck on Sunday due to the inaccessibility of the worst hit areas, cut off from the outside world by flooding and downed bridges, and the sheer magnitude of the disaster affecting many countries.

Aid started pouring into Indonesia only to stop at the airport due to a lack of fuel for trucks to move it.

Rescue workers were still struggling to reach some cut off areas and many have been too busy recovering the thousands of disfigured and bloated corpses to help deliver aid.

The United Nations admits only a fraction of aid is getting to where it is needed as the death toll rose above 120,000.

"We are doing very little at the moment," U.N. emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland acknowledged in New York. The United Nations estimates up to 5 million people need aid.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7208411&src=rss/worldNews