US concerned about aid reaching Myanmar victims

The United States has "massive concern" about whether its aid for Myanmar's cyclone victims will get to those suffering from disease and lack of food and water, the director of the U.S. office of foreign disaster assistance said Monday.

Ky Luu told reporters that the United States plans to rely on aid groups to track the supplies flown into the country Monday on a U.S. militaryC-130 cargo plane. U.S. officials were not allowed to accompany the supplies to the areas hardest hit.

Luu acknowledged that it is difficult to determine what will happen to the aid in the tightly controlled, military-led country, saying "There's massive concern" about whether it will reach the victims.

"We have to stay optimistic, support the in-country team and hope that the commodities will be able to reach the beneficiaries," he said.

Asked about the lack of U.S. control over the distribution of the supplies, Luu said: "What we are trying to do here is react, on the one hand, to the immediate humanitarian imperative; on the other hand, we do want to make sure to be able to verify and track these commodities."

Luu urged Myanmar to allow U.S. disaster experts into the country to make sure the aid gets to the people in need.