Aid workers seeking entry to Myanmar

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar, May 10 (UPI) -- Scores of relief workers are awaiting approval in Bangkok to enter Myanmar, where Cyclone Nargis hit a week ago, killing as many as 100,000 people.

The Guardian reported Saturday that among relief workers is Matthew Hollingworth, who leads the World Food Program's emergency logistics team.

The reclusive regime in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is widely blamed for the delay in getting relief personnel and supplies to afflicted areas, the British newspaper reported.

"It's enormously frustrating, we're completely hamstrung," said Hollingworth. "We're running out of time. We're here in the staging area away from those who are suffering, but we know exactly what they're going through. It's terrible not to be there to bring them succor."

He estimated that only about 10 percent of those affected by the cyclone have been reached by aid workers so far.

"We're just not reaching as many people as we should," he said. "For something on this scale we'd be hoping that 20, 30, 40 aid flights would be arriving every day, rather than 12 over a few days."