First US relief airlift heads to Myanmar

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The unarmed military C-130 cargo plane, packed with supplies, flew out of the Thai air force base of Utapao for Yangon. Two more air shipments are scheduled to land Tuesday.

Myanmar's junta said Sunday the official death toll from the May 3 Cyclone Nargis has jumped to nearly 29,000 with more than 33,000 missing.

But Richard Horsey, a spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations, said a toll of 100,000 dead or missing was possible based on "reports that we are receiving from our teams in the field from the authorities there."

Though the green light for the U.S. airlift was a positive sign, Horsey said the junta continued to frustrate international efforts to deliver aid. He said clean drinking water, shelter, medical supplies and food are still desperately needed by hundreds of thousands of people in order to prevent widespread starvation and disease.

"It's still a very serious situation. There are up to 2 million people in urgent need of assistance. Assistance is getting through" but not fast enough, he told The Associated Press in Bangkok, Thailand.

He said authorities must allow not only goods to come in urgently but also expedite visas for foreign experts and allowing equipment into the country.

"The authorities of the country need to open up to an international relief effort. There aren't enough boats, trucks, helicopters in the country to run the relief effort of the scale we need," he said. "It's urgent that the authorities do open themselves up."

In the hardest hit Irrawaddy delta, people were surviving in miserable conditions hundreds crowded into monasteries, where they slept on the floor. Others camped outside, drinking water contaminated by human feces, dead bodies and animal carcasses.

Heavy rains were forecast this week, which would further hinder aid delivery.

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