Burma death toll tops 77,000
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The death toll from the Burma cyclone crisis has soared to more than 77,000, the country's rulers said.
The military junta said 77,738 people were dead and 55,917 missing after the May 2 storm.
Torrential rain lashed the bedraggled survivors of Cyclone Nargis on Friday and one international health agency confirmed outbreaks of cholera in the stricken Irrawaddy delta region.
As tensions between the generals and the international community rose, France's UN ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said the junta was on the verge of a 'crime against humanity'.
He denied Burmese accusations that a French navy vessel sent to the region loaded with food, medicine, small boats and helicopters was a 'warship' intended to intimidate the regime.
Mr Ripert said: 'We are still trying to convince the authority of Burma to authorize us to go there.
'The ship will be off the coast of the delta, but in international waters, tomorrow. We still hope they will not refuse that.'
The European Union's top aid official Louis Michel flew to Rangoon to push for more access for foreign aid workers, but came away disappointed.
He said: 'Time is life. No government in the world can tackle such a problem alone. This is a major catastrophe.'
Two weeks after the storm, ordinary people in Burma are reportedly taking matters into their own hands, sending trucks into the delta with clothing and food donated by private companies and individuals.
Up to 2.5 million survivors are clinging to life in the Irrawaddy delta, with thousands lining roadsides to beg for help in the absence of government or foreign relief operations.
The generals insist their relief operations are running smoothly, justifying their refusal to allow major aid distribution by outside agencies and workers to victims of the cyclone, which flooded an area the size of Austria.
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