First US relief airlift heads to Myanmar

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Lt. Col. Douglas Powell, U.S. Marines spokesman for the operation, said the United States had 11,000 servicemen and four ships in the region for an annual military exercise, Cobra Gold, which could be harnessed to help in the mercy mission.

Highlighting the many challenges ahead, a Red Cross boat carrying rice, drinking water and other goods for more than 1,000 people sank Sunday near hard-hit Bogalay town. All four aid workers on board were safe.

Horsey, the U.N. spokesman, said the boat incident demonstrates the "major logistical bottleneck in getting this (aid) stuff from Yangon out to the people who need it, particularly in the delta."

"A natural disaster is turning into a humanitarian catastrophe of genuinely epic proportions in significant part because of the malign neglect of the regime," said British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

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