The UN confirmed that 16 peacekeepers serving with the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) – 1 Argentinean, 11 Brazilians, 1 Chadian and 3 Jordanians – died in the quake, and officials believe the number of fatalities is likely to rise in the coming days.

The Christopher Hotel, which houses the UN’s headquarters, along with other buildings hosting the world body have collapsed, leaving some 150 staff members – including Hédi Annabi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative – unaccounted for.

The earthquake is a “tragedy for the Haitian people and also for the UN,” said Alain Le Roy, the world body’s top peacekeeping official.

It is expected, he said, that this earthquake will claim the largest number of lives ever in a UN mission, even topping the 2003 terrorist bombing of the world body’s headquarters in Iraq, in which 22 people, including the top UN envoy, Sergio Vieira de Mello, were killed.

MINUSTAH was set up in 2004 and currently has more than 9,000 military and police personnel and nearly 2,000 civilian staff.

Some 3,000 of the mission’s troops and police are in and around Port-au-Prince, and are helping to maintain order and assist in relief efforts. They have also started to clear some of the capital’s main roads to allow aid and rescuers to reach those in need.

“The first priority is search and rescue,” with teams from the US, China, France, the Dominican Republic and other nations on their way to Haiti, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said today.