Looters in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince are coming under attack by local residents, who are forming Lynch mobs, a RIA Novosti correspondent said on Thursday.

A 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the impoverished Caribbean nation on January 12, with estimates of the number of dead ranging up to 200,000. An estimated three million people have been left without shelter and countries around the world are sending aid.

Food and water in the capital are scarce as rescuers are having difficulty getting the aid from the airport to the needed areas. Police forces are still unable to contain the mayhem in the city and fire warning shots to scare away looters, who drag needed items onto the streets from stores and warehouses after which fierce battles for food and water begin.

Local residents have begun capturing the looters, tying their hands and feet together and throwing them into roadside canals, RIA Novosti's correspondent has reported.

Hundreds of Haitians have been trying to leave the devastated capital, making their way to the airport. At times the crowds in front of the airport rush the terminal to get in, but are held off by soldiers.

Some 150 planes with international humanitarian aid land daily at Port-au-Prince airport. An airport in the Haitian southern city of Jacmel, as well as the Dominican Republic's airports are also used for aid deliveries.

International rescuers continue working in the quake-stricken area, pulling people from rubble and providing medical assistance to those rescued.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, January 21 (RIA Novosti)