Govt tries to contact 20 Irish people in Haiti

The Government has announced that it is putting its Rapid Response Corps on standby for travel to Haiti.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is trying to make contact with up to 20 Irish citizens believed to be in the country, which has been devastated by an earthquake.

The news comes as the Red Cross estimates that up to three million people have been affected.

The full scale of the disaster has yet to be revealed, as rescue crews wait for daylight to begin the major operation.

Witnesses say much of the capital Port au Prince has been devastated.

The first tremor hit 7 on the Richter scale, but there have been more than 30 aftershocks.