Burma's military rulers told foreign diplomats yesterday that more than 10,000 people had died in the devastating cyclone at the weekend, as the regime made a rare appeal for international help to bring relief to survivors. The diplomats fear a further 3,000 could be missing. The cyclone, which devastated Rangoon, the largest city, and the rice-growing Irrawaddy Delta, reached speeds of up to 120mph as it ripped through the countryside. "According to the latest information, more than 10,000 people were killed," Nyan Win, foreign minister, told diplomats and United Nations representatives. "Information is still being collected and there could be more casualties." Burma's government - which is highly wary of international aid workers - has quietly asked UN agencies and foreign governments for assistance in emergency relief efforts. "We will welcome help from other countries because our people are in difficulty," Mr Win said. The US, UK and European Union have indicated they are willing to help, while India said it was sending two ships with relief supplies. UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people left homeless after tropical cyclone Nargis flattened their fragile bamboo and thatch homes are in urgent need of clean drinking water and shelter. "They are receptive to international assistance," Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said of the Burmese government. "Discussions are taking place in New York and on the ground about what is needed, what the UN can provide and how to get it to the people." Teams from the local Red Cross are distributing plastic sheeting and water purification tablets from stockpiles in the country but Mr Horsey said far more would be needed given the scale of the disaster. He said the full scale of the damage would not be known for several days as communications were still poor and roads obstructed by trees and other debris. "It will take some days to get a complete picture," he said. "Travel is very difficult." The UN and the authorities are in discussions about how to import large quantities of relief supplies without becoming caught in cumbersome customs procedures, as well as on obtaining visas for UN staff to help oversee the relief operation. After initially opening their doors to foreign aid organisations - especially to help it cope with an HIV/Aids epidemic - Burma's military leaders have become suspicious of international aid workers, subjecting their movements to ever-tighter controls. Relations between the regime and the UN grew prickly after the junta's violent suppression of protests last September. The UN's representative in Rangoon was expelled after the generals took umbrage at his public assertion that the demonstrations reflected public anger at increasing poverty. The UN's on-the-ground assessments of the stormafflicted areas are being carried out by Burmese staffers, who do not require the same clearances to travel outside Rangoon as do foreign aid workers. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008