The Red Cross in Haiti is putting the death toll of Tuesday's earthquake at between 45,000 and 50,000. Three million people are said to have been made homeless or otherwise hit by the disaster.

Haitian President René Préval has said that some 7000 bodies have been buried in a mass grave. Many more bodies, some mutilated, some half-clothed, are lining the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince. About 1500 corpses are rotting outside the central hospital's mortuary.

Despite the launch of a massive international aid operation, there is little sign of heavy lifting equipment among the rubble or supplies reaching the people. Tens of thousands of displaced people are still roaming the streets in search of water, food and medical supplies.

Time magazine has reported that in some places, road barricades have been erected using dead bodies in protest against the late response to the quake by the government and the international community.

US President Barack Obama has earmarked 100 million dollars in emergency aid and has promised that the people of Haiti will not be forgotten. Mr Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, along with Brazil, Canada and other concerned nations, are planning to hold an international conference on Haiti's reconstruction.

Aid slow to get underway in Haiti - EPA