The peacekeeping department at UN headquarters in New York said "a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for" after the earthquake Tuesday in Haiti, where the UN mission in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince was severely damaged, dpa reported.
"The department of peacekeeping operations is still in the process of gathering information on the extent of the damage and the status of UN personnel," said Alain LeRoy, UN undersecretary general for peacekeeping operations.
"Contacts with the UN on the ground have been severely hampered as communications networks in Haiti have been disabled by the earthquake. For the moment, a large number of personnel remain unaccounted for."
He said the headquarters of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in Port-au-Prince has sustained serious damage along with other UN installations.
The mission has more than 7,000 military and civilian personnel deployed in Haiti to assist the government in implementing programmes on development and democratic reform.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern for the people of Haiti and the UN staff serving there, and said he was following developments closely.
"My heart goes out to the people of Haiti after this devastating earthquake," he said.