UN chief: Myanmar says yes to foreign helicopters

"We have received government permission to operate nine WFP (World Food Program) helicopters, which will allow us to reach areas that have so far been largely inaccessible," Ban told reporters in New York before departing on a trip to Myanmar.

His announcement was not immediately confirmed by officials of Myanmar's military government.

"I believe further similar moves will follow, including expediting the visas of (foreign) relief workers seeking to enter the country," Ban said. "I'm confident that emergency relief efforts can be scaled up quickly."

U.N. Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes was in Myanmar seeking to persuade the junta to let in more international assistance and paving the way for Ban's visit, which begins Thursday.

Holmes said he told Myanmar's prime minister, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, that the U.N. wants to support aid efforts, "as we would do in any other country in any disaster of this scale, where clearly the size of the tragedy outweighs the capacity of any country to deal with it by itself."

The junta appears to be slowly relenting to foreign pressure to accept more outside help, but even foreign aid workers already in the country are still banned from the worst devastated areas. The U.N. said only a fraction of survivors had gotten any international assistance.

The official death toll stood at about 78,000, with 56,000 more people missing. Conditions in the low-lying Irrawaddy River delta remained precarious, with survivors facing disease, malnutrition and exposure to the elements.

Speaking at a news conference a day after visiting the delta, Holmes said he had suggested the junta make "better use of international expertise and assets" and ensure "all possible routes in for aid are open, whether they be by land or sea or air."

The U.S. military has several helicopters on standby on a warship off the Myanmar coast and in neighboring Thailand.