U.N. says hundreds of thousands need help in Myanmar

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations estimates that "hundreds of thousands" of people in Myanmar are in need of help after a cyclone that killed nearly 22,500, a top U.N. humanitarian official said on Tuesday.

"Unfortunately we cannot tell you how many people are in need of assistance," Rashid Khalikov, director of the U.N. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs, told reporters in New York. "We just clearly understand that it will probably be in the hundreds of thousands of people."

Khalikov also appealed to Myanmar to waive visa requirements for U.N. aid workers trying to get into the country days after the devastating cyclone, in the same way Pakistan and Iran did after disastrous earthquakes struck their countries.

Khalikov added that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had also asked the government to cooperate with the United Nations as much as possible to enable aid to reach people in the affected areas.

A U.N. spokeswoman said that Ban had written a letter to the junta's senior general, Than Shwe, though she declined to say whether he had mentioned the issue of visas for U.N. aid workers.

Khalikov was asked if he had a backup plan if the military government in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, refused to issue visas to U.N. aid workers.

"The backup plan is to urge (the government) to issue visas," he said.

(Reporting by Louis Charbonneau, editing by Sandra Maler)