Typhoon survivors crowd in Philippines' Tacloban airport, waiting to flee

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Typhoon survivors crowd in Philippines' Tacloban airport, waiting to flee

(Xinhua) 10:02, November 16, 2013

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"We will take a chance for boarding today to Manila," said Glorna, one of the thousands of people who jammed storm-damaged Tacloban, capital of Leyte province in the Philippines, seeking to be evacuated.

Being the 266th in line, Glorna has been in the airport since Thursday, queuing up in front of more than 500. But he was told there were not enough airplanes because some were deployed to deliver relief goods.

"It seems that there is no time-table for leaving, in spite of the good news that more aircrafts including military and commercial ones have been arranged," said Glorna, who was accompanied by her husband and 7-year-old son in the crowded terminal where windows and doors are gone with the strong wind caused by super Typhoon Haiyan.

Cebu Pacific and Philippines Airlines have provided commercial tickets to the victims waiting for help at a price of 2,500 pesos (57 U.S. dollars). Compared with the civil aviation waiting line, the queue for the military aircraft C130 was much more longer since it was free of charge.

Having been in line for four consecutive days, 25-year-old girl Umil is the first victim to wait outside of the fence. "We have no money to take commercial flights or buses, we pray for good luck to be aboard today," said the girl with her six relatives who have a temporary shelter not far away.

The Philippine military has said the priority is to evacuate the injured, elderly and children.

Liebreich, a soldier from U.S. military, told Xinhua that each aircraft can carry approximately 150 persons, with a total of over a thousand already having been transferred.

A week after typhoon Haiyan ripped through Tacloban, sickness, hunger and thirst have settled in with the sticky, humid heat and stench of rancid flesh hanging over the city.

The national disaster agency raised the death toll to over 3, 000 on Friday, as rescuers collected more bodies on streets and the distribution of food, water and medicine picked up speed.

（Editor：WangXin、Chen Lidan）