Dozens of convicts who fled a prison in the British Virgin islands during Hurricane Irma are still on the run and have committed at least one rape, desperate locals say.
Hurricane survivors on the island of Tortola say they are living in fear of the ‘high risk’ inmates who have been looting at will since the storm hit almost a week ago.
Their plea comes after Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the devastation ‘really does remind me of pictures of Hiroshima’ after visiting the island chain.
While he praised British troops on the ground for helping to restore law and order following the storm, he admitted ‘a huge job’ still lies ahead to repair damage the storm caused.
Dozens of ‘high risk’ detainees who escaped prison on the island of Totola (pictured) are still on the run as locals say they have committed at least one rape
Residents of the devastated island say the convicts have been looting at will and have even robbed people at gunpoint (pictured, a jet torn apart by Hurricane Irma)
British foreign minister Boris Johnson visited the island on Wednesday, saying the sheer scale of the devastation reminded him of Hiroshima
Locals say things have improved since the arrival of British troops, but they still do not feel safe and are angry that there was no emergency plan in place
Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands, faced the full brunt of Irma with gusts of up to 200mph that swept aside homes and waves that carried boats ashore
Around 100 ‘high risk’ detainees broke out of jail after it was damaged by the 185mph storm which hit the island late last week.
Briefing notes for Cabinet politicians, seen by a photographer, suggested 40 were still on the loose on Wednesday.
While locals say things have improved since the arrival of British troops, they still do not feel safe.
One woman, who did not want to be named, told the Press Association: ‘Looters were on the streets and no government officials… there were people breaking into jewellery stores and supermarkets.
‘Then a couple of nights ago one family had a generator and five men with guns stick them up and took the generator away. You do not feel safe.
‘The prisoners came and they were walking around, people were raped, I’ve heard there was rape and now they’re trying to round them up.’
She said there should have been an emergency plan ready, but that credit needed to be given to the British troops with how they have helped in the aftermath.
The woman described Irma as ‘one of the most traumatic experiences of a lifetime.’
She added: ‘Every time the pressure went down your ears pop… then the winds came and you would hear windows shattering and you would hear banging.
‘Every roof in my area went, even those that had hurricane shutters and were boarded up… And the water, the wind and the rain, people were screaming.
Supplies have been brought from neighbouring islands to help those stranded in the region, which was among the worst affected by the hurricane, which was the strongest on record
Cabinet briefing documents suggest there were still 40 prisoners loose on the badly damaged island, as ministers warned of a ‘complete breakdown of law and order’
Locals described the hurricane as ‘the most traumatic experience of my life’ as winds shattered windows and scattered shipping containers
Cars, boats and airplanes were all thrown around by the winds and will now need to be removed from roads, while debris from homes was scattered around
The situation has been further compounded as vehicles which could have been used in the cleanup were also damaged
‘All my neighbours came and sheltered in my bedroom. It was very traumatic.’
Describing the scenes after the storm had passed she said there was galvanised steel ‘all over the place’, but that ‘people came together, cleared the roads and made them passable’.
Shanelle Williams, who has taken 15 people into her home following the natural disaster, added: ‘You go into the town, they crash and they open up and stealing everything.
‘Since the military came it has calmed down, but the only issue right now is these prisoners are out.
‘They have already raped someone and they have already tried to steal from people, it is terrifying.’
Bibi Alli, 37, said everything in her house has gone but she managed to survive by hiding in the bathroom of her house along with 14-year-old daughter Nerrize.
‘It sounded like a tornado, when the windows went everything was gone. I will never forget that in my life,’ she added.
Locals examine damage to their property as a fire burns in the background. The British Virgin Islands are now faced with a huge cleanup operation
British troops were dispatched to the island chain shortly after the storm struck, and locals have praised them for helping to restore order
Army engineers are now attempting to get the islands back on their feet by repairing critical infrastructure
Mr Johnson admitted there is a ‘huge’ engineering challenge ahead as work began to restore normality to the islands
She has been taken in by Ms Williams, along with Manicka Mangaroo who was also left homeless when her property was destroyed.
Of her decision to help out others, Ms Williams said: ‘You can’t just sit down and watch persons out there suffering, it was so crazy there were people running on the road.
‘I have lived through one hurricane in the 90s and it was never like this… this is the worst.’
Richard Barnson, whose own home on Nekker Island was devastated by the hurricane, said the governor of Puerto Rico – a US territory – had sent a plane packed with supplies to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands to help relief efforts.
Meanwhile Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited the British Virgin Islands on Wednesday, comparing the destruction to the devastation in Hiroshima after it was hit by a nuclear bomb.
However, there was anger and frustration after it was revealed a £13billion pot of foreign aid money cannot be used to repair the islands as they are considered ‘too wealthy’ to apply.
That is despite warnings by locals including ship captain Jonathan Moynihan, who told the Independent ‘without help, people are going to die.’
British doctor desperate to return home after finger was sliced off
A doctor from Staffordshire stranded on Tortola with his wife is desperate to return home after his finger was sliced off during Hurricane Irma.
Ian and Nicky Mackenzie had been on the island for five months as part of a trip of a lifetime when the storm hit last week.
The pair said their initial instinct had been to stay and help, but now admit the Mr Mackenzie’s injuries and the mental trauma they have suffered means they cannot be of use.
Mr Mackenzie, 57, suffered his injury while trying to keep the door of their home shut as gusts of 200mph ripped across the island, the Stoke Sentinel reports.
But the door slammed shut on his hand, leaving it pouring with blood.
The couple managed to find a doctor to stitch the wound shut after the hurricane had cleared, but had to remove half a mile of debris just to get their car out.
Ian and Nicky Mackenzie are trying to return home after his finger was sliced off as he tried to protect the pair from the storm
Friends have now set up a JustGiving appeal to raise £2,000 to fly the couple back home so they can receive proper medical treatment and recover from their ordeal.
Mrs Mackenzie’s sister Kirsty described her ordeal, saying: ‘Nicky thought she was going to lose [Ian], she was pleading with him to just let go of the doors, but he wouldn’t. They have lost everything. They have nothing except their iPad and the clothes they have on, all other possessions are gone.
‘Someone also tried to break in to the house but Nicky saw him off but then also saw red mist and went after him. She found him hiding in the trees and escorted him down to the bottom of the hill where she handed him over to someone.
‘I can tell Nicky has been badly affected by the events of the last week. I’m worried about her and want her to be around people who love her and care about her.
‘She thinks they will both need some kind of therapy as they are struggling to process what has happened. Kirsty is a caring person, and her instinct was to stay on the island and help, but given the situation this was just not possible.’