United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday paid tributes to the 101 UN staff who died in the deadly earthquake that struck Haiti on 12th January at a memorial ceremony held at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Ban described the 101 UN personnel who perished in the Haitian earthquake as "heroes" that included doctors, drivers, police officers, policy advisers, soldiers and lawyers who had come from all corners of the world to help Haiti.
"Dear colleagues dear friends, above all to families of those to whom we sadly bid farewell," the secretary-general said, his voice breaking. "We have suffered the greatest loss in our history."
"Gratitude fills this chamber - profound thanks that our world and our lives were touched by the grace and nobility of these 101 UN heroes," Ban said. "We honor 101 unique paths that joined in Haiti to write the larger story of the United Nations."
The deaths of 101 of its staff members in the quake was the greatest loss of life in a single event for the UN in its history. The large number of deaths occurred after the UN headquarters in Port-au-Prince collapsed in the quake. Those killed in the tragic incident included UN Haiti mission chief Hedi Annabi and his deputy, Luiz Carlos da Costa.
On 12th January, a deadly quake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale shook Haiti, leaving much of the western regions of the country in shambles. It is estimated that the quake killed 217,000 people in Haiti and caused damages between $8 billion and $14 billion.
Official estimates indicate the quake left at least 1.5 million people homeless across the devastated country, mostly in the capital Port-au-Prince. An estimated half-a-million homeless are currently living outside in improvised camps in the capital city.
Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, and the deadly quake followed a series of hurricanes that battered the country in 2008. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike and tropical storms Hanna and Fay devastated the Haiti in August and September 2008, leaving an estimated 793 people dead and 21 others missing.
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