Many, many lives are likely to have been lost in Haiti. Reports indicate that entire areas of the country have been destroyed. Port-Au-Prince is said to have more destroyed buildings than standing ones. We won’t know the full extent of damage until later today.

But we can already confirm that among the dead are UN peacekeepers. China says it lost eight police officers in the quake. Three Jordanian peacekeepers also lost their lives. Members of the Brazilian military are also said to have been buried under the debris.

Incidentally, the UN headquarters building in Haiti was destroyed. Other UN buildings are reportedly damaged, and communications are down across the country. Peacekeepers are said to have begun digging through debris overnight but there’s little one can accomplish without heavy equipment.

With a large number of UN employees still unaccounted for in Haiti, you can — sadly — expect the fatality rate for the organization to climb.

-

Update: The head of the UN mission is among the missing personnel; was reportedly in the building at the time of the quake.