Ecuadoran president visits quake-hit Haiti

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa arrived in earthquake-hit Haiti, the second foreign leader to visit since the January 12 disaster.

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa arrived Friday in earthquake-hit Haiti, the second foreign leader to visit since the January 12 disaster.

- This is a tragedy, a humanitarian tragedy. Haiti at this moment represents the pain of victims but also hope - Correa said as he descended from his plane in Port-au-Prince.

- In this phase of reconstruction, we are going to need a lot of resources -- human, material, financial - Correa said.

Dominican President Leonel Fernandez was the first foreign leader to fly into Haiti after the earthquake, arriving on January 14 to put aside long-running differences with the stricken neighboring country.

The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) is ''going to be present'' to help Haiti rebuild, said Correa, the temporary head of the regional bloc.

The 7.0-magnitude quake leveled much of the capital and surrounding areas, leaving 170,000 people dead and an estimated one million people homeless.

Before taking a helicopter flight over the Haitian capital to assess the damage, Correa said he was delivering medical aid and had brought 12 Ecuadoran doctors with him.

He said he had come to offer Haiti ''all our solidarity and all our support,'' adding that he would later meet Ecuadoran troops with the UN mission in Haiti.

The leftist president also said he would meet President Rene Preval ''to try to coordinate our activities a little better.''