Caribbean

Antigua (CMC):

The bodies of two senior officials of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) who died during the powerful earthquake that struck Haiti last month have been found.

Officials confirmed that the bodies of Rosemond James, the former ECCAA director general and that of his Director of Flight Safety, Gregory McAlphin, a Trinidad national, had been found in the rubble of their hotel in the capital, Port-au-Prince.

The two officials had travelled to Haiti to attend a meeting of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS), when the earthquake struck on January 12.

Their hotel was among the many buildings destroyed by the earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 that also left an estimated 200,000 people dead and more than one million homeless.

Meanwhile, the management of the regional airline, LIAT, said it was saddened at the death of the two officials who "at all times exemplified the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and dedication to the ideals of aviation safety and security".

It said their passing represents a tremendous loss to the civil aviation community in the Eastern Caribbean.