Relief as Irish woman found safe and well

A YOUNG Irish woman who was feared missing as deadly Hurricane Irma swept across the Caribbean island of St Martins has been located safe and well.

Edel O’Hare, who has been living and working in St Martins for the past two years, rang her mother Bernie on Tuesday to say she had been caught up in the powerful hurricane.

The 27-year-old restaurant worker from Warrenpoint in Newry, Co. Down, had to hide in a bathroom with friends as the hurricane hit and when she came out, the front of the hotel she was in was gone.

Her terrified mother Bernie told the Irish Daily Mail she had only spoken to her daughter on Tuesday for a few minutes but the call was intermittent and cut out.

She said she was ‘up the walls’ with fear over her daughter’s welfare and was anxiously awaiting any news.

However, last night, mother-of-eight Bernie said she had been contacted by Edel who was ‘safe and well’ and in line to leave the island as soon as possible.

Bernie said: ‘We are so relieved, we were up the walls. I had a brief conversation with her on Saturday but she said she is okay.

‘The army have cordoned off the road where they are and it is manned so the looters can’t gain access to where they are. But she said the looting was out of control. They have been told that the flights will begin taking people off the island after the next storm, so Monday [today] is the date.’

Many other Irish people have found themselves caught in the storm, including Conor McGregor’s coach, John Kavanagh. He was holidaying in Florida with fiancée Orlagh when the pair were forced to take shelter in their hotel room in Miami.