At least 36 UN staff members were confirmed dead in the devastating earthquake which struck Haiti on Tuesday, a spokesman for the UN mission in Haiti told reporters Thursday.

Speaking to reporters via video link from Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, David Wimhurst, a senior official with the UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), said among the dead were four police officers, 19 military personnel and 13 civilian staff members.

(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2010)