The UN "will continue to stand behind the Haitian people," Mr. Ban said in Port-au-Prince, the city hardest hit by the January 12 tremors. [Watch video]

In Port-au-Prince, the Secretary-General outlined three top priorities.

Firstly, he underscored the continued need for the search-and-rescue effort. Dozens of teams - comprising over 1,000 people - are on the ground trying to save survivors trapped under rubble.

Also essential, Mr. Ban stressed, is emergency relief, including food, water and tents, and these supplies are being distributed to those in need by the UN and its partner agencies.

"Third, and most important, coordination" of the emergency operation is vital, he noted.

'The situation is overwhelming," he said. "And the offer of assistance is also very moving and overwhelming."

The airport is still not operating at full capacity, but "we need to make sure our help is getting to people who need it, as fast as possible," the Secretary-General said. "We cannot waste one minute, one dollar or one person."

In a meeting with Haitian UN staff members, he underscored that "all of us, all colleagues and the whole world, are standing behind you and trying to share this difficult moment with all of you."

"You have suffered yourselves in this gravest single tragedy in UN history," Mr. Ban said to UN staff members in Port-au-Prince. "Yet you carry on..."

"We do not have to create UN heroes. We have only to look around. There are many heroes. I am proud to serve with you."

The world body confirmed the deaths of the Secretary-General's Special Representative to Haiti, H�di Annabi, as well as his Deputy Luiz Carlos da Costa and Acting Police Commissioner Doug Coates of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

"In every sense of the word, they gave their lives for peace," Mr. Ban said. [Watch video]

The Secretary-General characterized Mr. Annabi (pictured above), of Tunisia, as a "true citizen of the world" for whom the UN was his life. "He gave of himself - with energy, discipline and great bravery," Mr. Ban said, adding that the envoy was the "gold standard of service against which all who had the privilege to work with him were measured."

The Special Representative "was proud of the UN mission in Haiti - proud of its accomplishments in bringing stability and hope to Haiti's people, proud of his UN staff," Mr. Ban, who will visit the country tomorrow, stressed.

The deputy envoy, Mr. da Costa (pictured right), a Brazilian, has been a UN peacekeeping legend, the Secretary-General said, noting that his professionalism and dedication were matched only by his charisma, warmth and devotion to his friends.

"Over decades, he brought many of the finest and most talented staff to the United Nations," mentoring generations of UN staff. "His legacy lives in the thousands that serve under the blue flag in every corner of the globe."

Doug Coates, Acting Police Commissioner, was "a true friend of Haiti and the United Nations," Mr. Ban said.