Haiti earthquake death toll passes 2,200

The death toll from Haiti’s devastating earthquake earlier this month has grown to 2,207, with 344 people still missing, the authorities have said.

The previous figure, released on Wednesday, had been 2,189, while the country’s Civil Protection Agency said via Twitter that 12,268 people had been injured and nearly 53,000 houses had been destroyed by the August 14 quake.

The new toll comes at a time when relief operations are expanding — the US-based aid agency Samaritan’s Purse opened a field hospital on Saturday — but authorities are struggling with security at distribution points. Gangs have hijacked aid trucks and desperate crowds have scuffled over bags of food.

Meanwhile, the damage wrought to buildings by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake meant some people in the hard-hit city of Les Cayes attended outdoor church services on Sunday.

The quake was centred on the impoverished nation’s southwestern peninsula.