The US Agency for International Development has cited a death toll of 50,000 dead from Haiti's earthquake, but noted the difficulty in confirming the number amidst the disaster, dpa reported. USAID said its figure came from the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC), which based its estimation on an assessment by one of the first UNDAC teams on the ground. In an e-mail circulated late Saturday, USAID also noted that its search and rescue teams, working alongside other international teams, had rescued 22 people from collapsed buildings as of week's end. All told, USAID has sent 506 search and rescue experts to Haiti, ravaged by a massive earthquake on Tuesday that has affected about one-third of its population, or 3 million people. USAID said that the US military has flown in three water treatment units that are delivering 300,000 litres of safe drinking water every day. Another water treatment plant was on its way.
