UN aid chief to arrive in Myanmar on Friday

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher will arrive in earthquake devastated Myanmar on Friday, said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as he appealed for more international funding and rapid, unimpeded aid access in the country.

Guterres said his special envoy for Myanmar, Julie Bishop, will also travel to the country in the coming days "to reinforce our commitment to peace and dialogue."

"The earthquake has supercharged the suffering – with the monsoon season just around the corner," Guterres told reporters. "I appeal for every effort to transform this tragic moment into an opportunity for the people of Myanmar."

Last Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar's strongest in a century, jolted a region home to 28 million, toppling buildings such as hospitals, flattening communities and leaving many without food, water and shelter.

Deaths rose to 3,085 on Thursday, with 4,715 injured and 341 missing, the ruling junta said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York; editing by Ryan Patrick Jones)

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