TRINI MISSING IN HAITIBy NALINEE SEELAL and LEISELLE MARAJ Saturday, January 16 2010
An international appeal has been made for assistance in finding Gregory Andre McAlpin, a Trinidadian who was among 200 guests at a Haitian hotel which collapsed when a massive earthquake hit that country on Tuesday afternoon.
McAlpin, 48, who is the director of flight safety at the OECS Civil Aviation Authority based in Antigua, left that country on Tuesday to attend the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System board meeting which was to be held in Haiti. He and other regional aviation authority personnel were staying at the Montana Hotel in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. The hotel was flattened in the earthquake.
At about 4.30 pm that day, McAlpin sent a text to a friend in Miami telling him that he had arrived at the hotel, according to McAlpin’s sister, Karen Camejo. The distraught woman told Newsday that this was the last time anyone had any contact with him before the 7.0 earthquake occurred at about 5.53 pm local time.
Anxious relatives have been calling his cellphone since the tragedy occurred, but the calls have gone unanswered and relatives fear the worst. Speaking with Newsday yesterday, Camejo said they have been in constant contact with the Civil Aviation Authority in Antigua but they have not provided any useful information.
“It is an upsetting time,” she said in a voice cracked with emotion. She added McAlpin left Trinidad ten years ago for Antigua and returned to this country last year for vacation during which period he spent quality time with relatives. Camejo said during his visit, he was happy and fine.
Yesterday on CNN iReport, which is a service provided for persons to post information on the news agency’s website, a request was made for assistance in locating McAlpin. It detailed his height, a description of his appearance and information of his last known whereabouts.
A release issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thursday stated McAlpin, and director general of the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority, Ramesh Lutchmedial were the only two Trinidadians that the ministry was advised were in Haiti at the time of the earthquake.
The ministry stated both men were safe and accounted for. Lutchmedial was transported out of Haiti to Jamaica on Wednesday evening while plans were being made to evacuate McAlpin, the ministry said.
However, a report in yesterday’s edition of the newspaper, the Antiguan Sun, quoted their Civil Aviation Minister John Maginley as saying this was a case of mistaken identity. Initial reports, he said, indicated contact was made with Gregory McAlpin, but it turned out to be Greg Fox of the Civil Aviation Authority of Jamaica. Fox News reported Wednesday that the four-star hotel Montana collapsed during the earthquake, and some 200 guests are still missing.
Contacted yesterday Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon confirmed Lutchmedial was expected to return to Trinidad from Jamaica last night. She also indicated that another Trinidad and Tobago national, who works with the United Nations in Haiti, is accounted for and fine. However, she said, they have not been able to locate McAlpin. Reports which were initially received yesterday of McAlpin, she said, came from Caricom officials but as of now, they have not been able to ascertain his whereabouts.
Avinash Lutchmedial , son of Lutchmedial, said his father remains “quite shaken up” after staring death in his face while in Haiti.
Lutchmedial was also in Haiti for the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security System Oversight meeting.
According to Avinash, a change of flight prevented his father from being at the hotel when it collapsed. He was at the time 20 minutes away from the hotel. Lutchmedial spoke to him yesterday morning and expressed worry about the rest of his colleagues who were attending the meeting. Lutchmedial’s family was anxious to see him. “We love him and want to see him tonight. Thank God,” Avinash said.
“My dad witnessed horrific events, saw bodies in the road. He saw a man running with a child and her head was squashed. We are hoping everything is okay with him,” he said.
The death toll in Haiti up to late yesterday was put at more than 50,000 persons. International relief for the country has been pouring in and this country’s Prime Minister Patrick Manning has already pledged US$1 million in assistance.
