Reuters

First UK aid plane heads to Burma

Updated 07.42 Tue May 13 2008

The first planeload of British aid is heading for cyclone-ravaged Burma where an estimated 100,000 people have died.

Aid flights from the US, as well as India and Malaysia are also expected in the South East Asian country later.

Oxfam has warned that the current death toll of 100,000 people could multiply 15-fold, in the face of disease, starvation and further torrential rain to come

A consignment of bales of plastic sheeting were sent last night from a British Government store in Dubai - the first of four such flights as part of a £5 million UK aid package.

Supplies are now trickling into the country amid renewed pressure on the ruling junta to lift its block on international help getting into the country.

The Queen has made a "significant" personal donation to the relief effort, according to reports.

Thousands of square miles of Burma are still underwater following the devastating Cyclone Nargis more than a week ago.

Oxfam has warned that the current death toll of 100,000 people could multiply 15-fold, in the face of disease, starvation and further torrential rain to come.

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon has criticised Burma's military junta for its "unacceptably slow response" to helping the victims.

He said: "Unless more aid gets into the country - very quickly - we face an outbreak of infectious diseases that could dwarf today's crisis.

"I therefore call, in the most strenuous terms, on the government of Burma to put its people's lives first. It must do all that it can to prevent this disaster from becoming even more serious."

On Monday, Gordon Brown urged the Burmese authorities to give "unfettered access" to humanitarian agencies seeking to help survivors and pledged that Britain would use its chairmanship of the UN Security Council to press for action.

International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander and his EU counterparts are expected to agree a formal statement demanding that the Burmese regime allow full access to aid workers to distribute humanitarian assistance.

The Royal Navy ship HMS Westminster is heading for Burma to help humanitarian operations.

The Disasters Emergency Committee said the "clock was ticking" in the race to save further lives.

It is feared that further heavy deluges will hamper the progression of the embryonic aid effort, which is only just beginning to reach the worst hit areas.

Agencies continue to report difficulty obtaining visas for trained emergency response workers.

Attention is now focused on preventing sickness spreading among the millions of displaced survivors.