Caribbean storm floods leave at least 270 dead

RESCUE workers dumped 60 corpses into a mass grave yesterday as the death toll rose to 270 in floods that swept away a small village on the Dominican Republic's border with Haiti.

At least 270 people were believed dead in both countries which share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

Frantic relatives dug through the mud in Jimani in search of loved ones as emergency workers, wearing white gloves and face masks, watched as trucks dumped naked corpses into a 15-foot ditch left partially uncovered to hold more bodies. No families were present.

In the past two weeks, rains have saturated the island. But a storm on Monday forced the Solie River to burst its banks, sweeping away a neighbourhood of wooden shacks built by Haitian migrants working in Jimani. Many of the dead were believed to be Haitians.

On the Dominican side, an AP reporter counted about 100 bodies in the makeshift morgue on Monday night. Early yesterday, families had claimed the bodies of 70 people and 60 unclaimed bodies were dumped in the mass grave.

Rescue workers and families continued to pull corpses from the mud, said Juan Trinidad Dotel, president of the Dominican Red Cross.

Officials said some illegal migrants were afraid to claim the bodies of loved ones. On the Haitian side, officials were reporting an estimated 120 dead.

US marines, who are leading a 3,600-strong multi national task force sent to stabilise Haiti since the overthrow of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was heading to the area to look for victims and help in emergency work.

Many roads on both islands were still impassable because of the rain.