GENEVA, Jan 19 (AFP) - More than 90 people have been pulled out alive since international search and rescue teams began combing through the debris from last week's earthquake in Haiti, the United Nations said Tuesday.
"This is always good news. Our rescue and humanitarian efforts are now concentrated outside of Port-au-Prince," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told AFP.
By Saturday, more than 70 people had been freed from under collapsed buildings by the teams, according to the UN. This means that about 20 people were rescued five or six days after the earthquake struck.
Besides the capital, the earthquake has wreaked massive damage on nearby cities, including Jacmel to the south of the capital, and Carrefour, Gressier and Leoganne, to the west.
OCHA said the immediate priorities for relief agencies remained "medical assistance, corpse management, shelter, water and food and sanitation."
While food and tents are arriving in the country, the UN agency said access to fuel -- essential for the transport of relief items -- continues to be an issue.
The World Food Programme is now planning to move 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel a day from neighbouring Dominican Republic to help relieve the situation, said OCHA in its latest situation report.
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