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Press Release

UNICEF mourns loss of life In Mongolia accident

Monday, 15 January 2000: Staff of the United Nations Children's Fund around the world were in mourning today after the weekend loss of a UNICEF colleague in a tragic helicopter accident in Mongolia.

The accident on Sunday claimed the lives of nine people, including four staff members of UN agencies. Fourteen people were injured.

"All of us at UNICEF deeply mourn the loss of our colleague and friend Matthew Girvin," said Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF. "Matthew was an enormously dedicated, talented and loving colleague and humanitarian. His tragic death is a real loss for UNICEF and the people we serve. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones," Bellamy said.

Mr. Girvin was participating in a humanitarian assessment mission in northern Mongolia when the helicopter carrying the UN team was involved in an accident. The team was working to assess humanitarian needs in regions of Mongolia that have been hard hit first by damaging storms and now by drought.

Bellamy said that Mr. Girvin was an outstanding professional who contributed greatly to the children's agency in just a few years. He began working for UNICEF in 1994 in Beijing, China, and took up his post as Programme Officer in Mongolia in 1997. He was a U.S. citizen and is survived by family in Spokane, Wash., and New York City.

Bellamy noted that even as inquiries continue into the accident and arrangements are made to care both for the survivors and the remains and belongings of the deceased, the UN was preparing for a resumption of the assessment mission. "Though we struggle to come to terms with our losses, we remain committed to the people of Mongolia who need our help," Bellamy said. "I feel strongly that Matthew and his colleagues would have wanted us to forge onward. We do so in memory of their compassionate and generous lives."

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For further information please contact:

Liza Barrie, UNICEF Media, New York (212) 326-7593
lbarrie@unicef.org

Alfred Ironside, UNICEF Media, New York (212) 326-7261
aironside@unicef.org