Despite the launch of a massive international aid operation in response to Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti, there is little sign of heavy lifting equipment among the rubble or supplies reaching the people. Bottlenecks and infrastructure damage are hampering the rescue operation, as tens of thousands of displaced people roam the streets in search of water, food and medical supplies. Desperate survivors are reportedly dying in large numbers.

The airport at the capital Port-au-Prince is filled to capacity. US air traffic controllers have taken charge to manage the increase in air traffic as more and more aid is flown into the country. Fuel shortages are causing some aircraft to clog up the tarmac.

Looting, threats of violence, hijacking of relief trucks and reports of gunfire have contributed to further delays in getting the rescue operation underway. The World Food Programme said its warehouses in Port-au-Prince had been looted and that it would have to restock in order to feed survivors. A WFP spokesperson in Geneva said on Friday that the agency was preparing to send enough meals to feed two million people for a month.

Aid bottleneck
Another major obstacle in assisting victims is the lack of functioning hospitals. United Nations teams on the ground are urging countries to stop sending search and rescue teams into an aid bottleneck, but are calling for doctors and medical personnel to treat thousands of casualties suffering crush injuries or fractures.

Rescue teams searching for trapped survivors are racing against the clock, as the chances of survival after three days without water are getting slimmer. French rescue workers freed seven Americans from under the rubble today.

The Red Cross in Haiti is putting the death toll of Tuesday's earthquake at between 45,000 and 50,000. An estimated 300,000 people have been left homeless in the devastation wrought by the earthquake, with one in ten homes in the capital destroyed. A helicopter assessment by the United Nations mission in Haita found that some areas around Port-au-Prince suffered "50 percent destruction". Some 3.5 million people live in the areas hit by the 7.0 magnitude quake.

Macabre roadblock
A photographer from Time magazine has reported he has seen a roadblock formed with dead bodies in protest against the late response. He believed it was an "act of anger" by the desperate people who are not getting the aid they need.

The UN is due to launch a flash appeal for hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for Haiti today. So far, 20 countries, organisations and companies have pledged 186.3 million euros in aid for the victims. US President Barack Obama has earmarked 100 million dollars and has promised that the people of Haiti will not be forgotten. Cuba has given the US permission to use its air space to facilitate quicker transportation of humanitarian help. Cuba has also 300 doctors working on emergency disaster relief.

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.

Relief effort in Haiti is slow (ANP)