It was the wine cellar that saved them all
SURROUNDED by debris and fallen trees, Sir Richard Branson surveys the trail of destruction left by Hurricane Irma on his private island.
The British tycoon and his staff took shelter in the wine cellar of his Great House as the category five hurricane ripped through Necker Island.
In pictures shared by the billionaire businessman yesterday, the usually exotic beaches of white sand and the turquoise sea looked bleak with debris from buildings scattered across the surf.
Sir Richard’s video of the devastation on the island shows that almost all the contents have been blown out of the luxurious Necker Island Beach House.
Only the structure is left of the building, which was previously filled with beds, sofas and a bar. A flat-screen TV is hanging off the wall.
One of the three-storey guest buildings has also been badly damaged. The top roof has blown away and a bed, which may in the past have greeted newly wed couples can be seen upside down in the dirt. Boats were snapped in half.
Sir Richard, 67, said: “Much of the buildings and vegetation on Necker has been destroyed or badly damaged.
“We felt the full force of the strongest hurricane ever in the Atlantic Ocean. But we are very fortunate to have a strong cellar built into Necker’s Great House and were very lucky all of our teams who stayed on Island during the storm are safe and well.” – Daily Mail