US aid flight takes off for Burma
Written: 12th May, 2008
The first US aid flight to Burma following the devastating cyclone nine days ago has taken off from an air base in neighbouring Thailand.
Permission for the aircraft to land in Rangoon was granted after a week of talks with Burma's military rulers.
Experts have warned that aid entering the country is vastly inadequate for the scale of the disaster.
They say help has reached less than one third of those in need - and say many thousands of people are still missing.
On Sunday, Burmese TV said the death toll had risen to 28,458, while 33,416 were missing.
Aid agencies, however, estimate that 100,000 have died and warn that this figure could rise to 1.5 million without provision of clean water and sanitation.
Source BBC news