Australian man killed in Haiti | World News | Breaking World News

AN Australian man has been killed in Haiti, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.

The dual Australian British citizen was a United Kingdom resident working in Haiti for the United Nations, Mr Rudd told a press conference in Melbourne on Monday.

Mr Rudd said Australia had received confirmation from British authorities on Monday that a dual Australian British national had been killed.

"This is another sobering reminder of the vast human toll of the horrific event that we've seen in Haiti," Mr Rudd told reporters in Melbourne.

"The man was working for the United Nations and was a resident of the United Kingdom."

The Department of Foreign Affairs had spoken to the man's next of kin to pass on Australia's condolences, Mr Rudd said.

He said British authorities were providing consular assistance to the man's family in the UK and Australian authorities were on standby to help if required.

"This is obviously a very, very sad day for this man's family, his loved ones and his friends and I'm sure I speak on behalf of all Australians when I say that our thoughts and our prayers go out to his family and his loved ones on this tragic occasion," Mr Rudd said.

"Haiti, of course, reminds us of a tragedy which has been felt by tens of thousands of families around that country and of course more widely in the international community."

Australia has committed $10 million to the Haiti Earthquake Relief effort but Mr Rudd said the government was open to contributing more if requested by aid agencies.

The US general running the military relief effort in Haiti says the international community fears the death toll from the earthquake could be as high as 200,000, but says no one could know for sure.

Many more have been left homeless and destitute by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.