At least 270 feared dead in Caribbean floods
Rescue workers dumped 60 bloated corpses into a mass grave today as the toll continued to rise in floods that swept away a small village on the Dominican Republic’s border with Haiti.
At least 270 people were believed dead in both countries which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.
Frantic relatives dug through the mud in Jimani in search of loved ones as emergency workers, wearing white gloves and face masks, watched as trucks dumped naked corpses into a 15-foot ditch left partially uncovered to hold more more bodies. No families were present.
In the past two weeks, rains have saturated the island. But a storm on Monday forced the Solie River to burst its banks, sweeping away a neighbourhood of wooden shacks built by Haitian migrants working in Jimani. Many of the dead were believed to be Haitians.
On the Dominican side, an Associated Press reporter counted about 100 bodies in the makeshift morgue on Monday night. Early today, families had claimed the bodies of 70 people and 60 unclaimed bodies were dumped in the mass grave.
Rescue workers and families continued to pull corpses from the mud, said Juan Trinidad Dotel, president of the Dominican Red Cross.
Officials said some illegal migrants were afraid to claim the bodies of loves ones.
On the Haitian side, officials were reporting an estimated 120 dead.
US Marines, who are leading a 3,600-strong multinational task force sent to stabilise Haiti since the overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, were heading to the area to look for victims and help in emergency work.
Many roads on both islands were still impassable because of the rain.
