Traumatised Haitians battle to survive

Despite a massive aid operation that is swinging into place, basic supplies were dwindling in the capital of Port-au-Prince which has seen bloody riots in past decades of political upheaval.

Haiti is already the poorest nation in the Americas and UN chief Ban Ki-moon said some 3,000 UN officers were patrolling the streets amid rising fears that tensions could spill over into violence.

"If international aid doesn't come, the situation will deteriorate quickly. We need water and food urgently," said Lucille, sitting at the door of her home with her family, dazed by the devastation wrought by Tuesday's 7.0 quake.

"More doctors, fewer journalists," one man yelled out angrily, shaking his fists at one of the foreign media crews which are also arriving in the city.

Haitian girl trapped in the rubble

In harrowing scenes, CNN showed rescue workers frantically trying to reach an 11-year-old girl trapped under a house along with several of her relatives.

Lacking the right equipment they were sawing through twisted concrete and metal, contemplating that they might have to amputate her leg, as she screamed out for her mother and father.

Aid 'coming too late'

The smell of thousands of rotting corpses left lined up by roadsides, or still mangled in the ruins of the city, filled the air. Occasional moans escaped from the rubble of those still trapped.

One group trying to free a man trapped in the rubble of the tax office, looked up wearily at the planes flying overhead.

"I can't understand what they are doing, where they are going," said Jean-Baptiste Lafontin Wilfried as US Coast Guard planes sliced through the skies.

"We hear on the radio that rescue teams are coming from the outside, but nothing is coming. We only have our fingers to look for survivors," said the tax inspector, standing atop of the remains of his office.

Reports of looting in Haitian shops

Shopkeepers, in a nation dependant on food aid, were trying to protect what little wares they had, amid reports that some homes and businesses had been looted overnight.

"We are hearing several gunshots without knowing where they are coming from exactly. Looting has started in the supermarkets, which have partly fallen down," wrote Valmir Fachini, spokesman for Brazilian Viva Rio charity, in an email.

"The gunshots are constant and we have the impression that it's families trying to protect themselves from attackers," he added.

Early Thursday, the busy streets filled with thousands searching for food and water continued to be rattled by gunfire.

With gasoline supplies scarce, a human tide carrying their meagre belongings were trying to leave the city heading for less damaged areas, or just find a place to sleep.

Some carried tiny radios desperate for news.

Haitian leaders 'letting people down'

There was anger, too, against the country's leaders, who despite making statements to the international media, have failed to address the nation in one of its darkest hours amid fears the death toll could top 100,000.

"Since the earthquake, there has not been a single word to the people by our leaders. Granted, they also have been affected by the disaster, but they could have said something," said finance ministry official Valentin.

There were signs that foreign relief workers were beginning to fan out over the city, and the international airport had to be shut as the runways became clogged leaving several planes carrying aid circling overhead.

But in some of the devastated areas of the city, no evidence of the gathering huge aid effort could be seen.

Piles of bodies growing

Meanwhile, the piles of bodies continued to grow, many of them gathered and dumped at the damaged main Port-au-Prince hospital where grieving relatives were left to search through them for their loved ones.

"I finally found my cousin," said Jean Lionel Valentin, pointing to a body covered with a white sheet.

"But now, nobody wants to help me carry the body, taxis are trying to charge me a fortune," he said.

A growing army of bodies have been laid out in the garden of the facility -- -- some mutilated and half-clothed, caked in dirt and surrounded by flies.

"For now the main concern is to get the bodies off the streets. Then we'll get to the ones beneath the ruins," said a local policeman.