State TV reports official death toll in Myanmar cyclone passes 43,000
May 15, 2008YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar state television says the official cyclone death toll to has climbed to more than 43,000.
The figure, broadcast Thursday night, was almost 5,000 more than that released Wednesday by the military government. The number of missing has remained at nearly 28,000 for at least two days.
The United Nations and others estimate that well over 100,000 people may have died in the disaster.
Myanmar's junta has allowed the UN and some other agencies to hand out aid directly to cyclone victims.
But it has prohibited their few foreign staff from leaving Yangon, the country's main city.
