NAVY’S DASH TO SAVE 185 MPH STORM BRITS
Huge rescue mission as UK sisters missing in battered Caribbean
ROYAL Navy ships were last night rushing to the Caribbean to help rescue Brits stranded by killer storm Hurricane Irma.
UK sisters Asha and pregnant Afiya Frank are missing in Barbuda. Mum Claire fears they may be victims. She said: “It is so difficult.”
A BRITISH mum fears for the safety of her two daughters and husband who are missing after Hurricane Irma battered the Caribbean, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake.
Claire Frank believes seven-months pregnant Afiya, sister Asha and their dad Mackenzie may have been sucked from their home on the island of Barbuda.
She spoke as two Royal Navy ships were sent to the region to help rescue hundreds of Britons stranded by the storm that has so far killed 10 people, with officials warning the toll could rise.
And there were fears of a humanitarian crisis as the United Nations said 49 million people are still in Irma’s path as it sweeps across the Caribbean bringing 185mph winds. To make matters worse, a second hurricane, Jose, is expected to hit the region in the coming days.
Claire, of Badwell Ash, Suffolk, told how beauty therapist Afiya, 27, was due to fly back to the UK next week to give birth but she has not heard from her, former Miss Antigua, Asha, 29, or Mackenzie since Wednesday. She said: “I keep thinking of the scene from the Wizard of Oz when people were blown out of their house.
“I have heard reports of people saying they had to hold on to the walls inside their houses to avoid being pulled out of by the pressure inside the hurricane.
“Houses can implode. I just don’t think the world has seen a hurricane like this before. It is just so difficult to imagine.”
Claire, who has lived on Barbuda for most of the past 25 years, said she remained hopeful her family would
survive and be in touch when communications were restored with the island. Briton Simon Healy, who owns a bar on the island of St Martin, has also not been heard from since Wednesday. His dad Stephen, of Manchester, said: “We are sick with worry.
“We just hope it is the communications that are down and that Simon, his wife and three children are OK. The last time we had contact with them was 1.30am on Wednesday just as the hurricane arrived.” Irma, a category five storm – the strongest ever recorded in the Atlantic – has reduced the tiny islands of Barbuda and St Martin to rubble. Almost every building on Barbuda has been destroyed. There were fears more Britons may be among the victims. The Royal Navy’s RFA Mounts Bay, an auxiliary landing ship dock carrying marines and army engineers, is already in the region to help with the rescue and relief efforts. She will be joined by HMS Ocean, which is being diverted from NATO exercises in the Mediterranean.
Two Puma helicopters will also be available, as well as a Wildcat chopper on Mounts Bay. The MoD revealed 150 troops will fly to the Caribbean from RAF Brize Norton to assist.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said HMS Ocean was being sent “to bring the help that will be needed for reconstruction after the hurricane has passed”. The MoD added: “The aim is to offer support, hopefully, clear the roads and get as much support there ahead of Hurricane Jose.” Theresa May’s spokesman said: “No one can fail to be affected by the absolute desperate plight of people in the Caribbean who have been hit by Hurricane Irma. We are working urgently to assess the damage and precisely what has happened.”
The Government’s foreign aid department sent three humanitarian experts to the region before the hurricane to prepare and a fourth was due to arrive last night.
It also boosted its aid from £12million to £32million – after facing criticism for its slow response to the disaster.
The deaths caused by Irma were on St Martin, Antigua and Barbuda. The hurricane also hit St Barthelemy, the British Virgin Islands, the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Florida was on high alert last night with Irma expected to hit on Saturday. Thousands of residents fled to safety.
I think of the Wizard of Oz when people were blown from their houses CLAIRE FRANK MUM ON FEARS FAMILY ARE VICTIMS