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About 75,000 people died and more than 200,000 were wounded in the devastating quake in Haiti, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said at a special session of the UN General Assembly on Friday.

About one million people lost their homes and one million became refugees, he said.

In all, about three million Haiti residents need assistance, Ban said.

There are security problems, too, as about 4,000 inmates broke free in the quake.

The bodies of 70 UN staff members have been found in Haiti, and another 146 are on the missing list, Ban said.

As relief efforts continue, Ban emphasized the need to rebuild the impoverished Caribbean nation and “turn disaster into opportunity.”

The emergency response to the 7.0 magnitude quake must shift in the coming weeks towards longer-term relief and recovery, he said.

The international community must help the Haitian Government reconstitute itself, restore basic services and jump-start the economy, he said.

“Haiti’s recovery must begin with its people â€" strong, resilient and impatient to get to work rebuilding their lives and their country,” the Secretary-General said.

Last week’s disaster provides an “opportunity to build back better,” he said, quoting his Special Envoy Bill Clinton.

“And we need to provide jobs, not only to those who lost their jobs last week, but to the millions of Haitians who did not have a job in the first place,” he emphasized. -PNA

It is actually almost 112,000 at the present count