Flaws have been found in a recent U.S. report suggesting the death toll from Haiti’s January 2010 earthquake was significantly lower than official estimates, Mark Feierstein, USAID’s assistant administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, said on Friday, the Associated Press reports. The news service said Feierstein’s words were “the strongest statement yet” on the report by a U.S. government official.

The report authors did not use a representative statistical sample, according to Feierstein. “The study didn’t include data from heavily damaged areas in Haiti’s countryside or from the number of houses that collapsed and killed people, he said,” the AP writes. “The report’s lead author, Timothy T. Schwartz, couldn’t be reached for comment Friday,” according to the news service. The report remains under review and has not been officially released (Daniel, 6/4).