Dutch Haiti rescue help stuck in Curacao

Friday 15 January 2010

The Dutch transport plane carrying rescue workers and dogs to help find survivors on Haiti, hit by a devastating earthquake on Tuesday, is currently stranded on Curacao, according to Nos tv.

Chaos at Port-au-Prince airport means the aircraft has been unable to reach the island. Dutch officials hope the plane, carrying 72 people, eight dogs and 13 tonnes of supplies, will be able to take off again later today.

The team expects to spend 10 days searching for survivors once it arrives at the earthquake zone.

One army officer on the plane told the Volkskrant the plane had been delayed taking off because it had to wait for a special permit. 'While we are waiting, other rescue teams are helping people. Sometimes you have to ask if it is worth being the best behaved boy in the class, rather than asking for a permit later,' he was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the Dutch foreign ministry says it is very concerned for the safety of nine Dutch nationals who were staying at one of the hotels which collapsed in the quake. In total there has been no contact with 22 Dutch people who were on the island.

Four Dutch nationals, including one child, are known to have been injured.

The Haitian Red Cross puts the current death toll at up to 50,000 people and says three million have been made homeless.

In the Netherlands, a number of fund raising efforts for the victims have already started. And the aid organisation alliance SHO says some €730,000 not yet donated to victims of the Tsunami in 2004 will be given to Haiti.

© DutchNews.nl

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