A British tourist who spent nearly a week trapped on a lawless Caribbean island struck by Hurricane Irma has revealed he kept a kitchen knife under his bed to protect against looters.
James Tuffin, 32, was left stranded on St Martin after he was unable to check-in for his flight last Monday because no one from Delta Airlines was available to print his boarding pass.
The public relations professional spent a desperate five days hiding in a hotel room with no running water or electricity and armed men on the loose outside, before eventually boarding a US Army flight which took him to safety.
James Tuffin,(left) spent a desperate five days hiding in a hotel room(right) with no running water or electricity and armed men on the loose outside
Mr Tuffin, who was on holiday with a friend, said he and his family made numerous calls to the UK Foreign Office for advice, but he was given limited information and no offer of evacuation.
And he warned there were tourists from Britain and other countries still trapped on St Martin and in dire need of help after the storm struck on Wednesday.
He told MailOnline: ‘The days after the storm were terrible. There was no running water or electricity, the toilets would not flush and food supplies were depleting.
‘At nightfall, we would sit in the hotel room in darkness and slept with kitchen knives under our beds because we were so scared someone would break in.
‘One day, our neighbours above us came down because she had seen a man with a gun who had come to her apartment to steal food.
‘She told us to lock ourselves in the room because he was running around outside.
‘On the same day, a Dutch man, also in the hotel, heard there was a man running around with the machete. People were looting – it was terrifying.’
Mr Tuffin, originally from London, arrived at St Martin by boat on September 4 hoping to catch a flight back to New York, where he lives.
He had been on holiday for five days on nearby Anguilla.
But after entering the Princess Juliana International Airport he was unable to find any Delta Airlines staff to check him in because they had already left to process the other passengers at the gate.
Mr Tuffin, who was on holiday with a friend, said he and his family made numerous calls to the UK Foreign Office for advice, but he was given limited information and no offer of evacuation. He took photos of the devastation on St Martin, pictured
And Mr Tuffin he warned there were tourists from Britain and other countries still trapped on St Martin and in dire need of help after the storm struck on Wednesday
Mr Tuffin, originally from London, arrived at St Martin by boat on September 4 hoping to catch a flight back to New York, where he lives
But after entering the Princess Juliana International Airport he was unable to find any Delta Airlines staff to check him in because they had already left to process the other people had the gate
‘By the time we got to the airport on St Martin we only had ten minutes before check-in was closing, as our boat had been delayed because of the weather,’ he said.
‘The check-in machines weren’t working and I could not use the app. When I got to the Delta desk no one was there, everyone had left already.
‘I was starting to panic, I went to all the other airlines and they said the Delta staff had already left. So we missed the flight, because there was no one available.’
Realising he was unable to leave, Mr Tuffin and his 27-year-old friend Michael found a room at nearby Simpson’s Bay Resort, where they spent the next two nights.
On Wednesday, the pair attended a briefing at the hotel, where the guests were told to gather food and water in preparation for a category five hurricane that was on its way.
On Wednesday, the pair attended a briefing at the hotel, where the guests were told to gather food and water in preparation for a category five hurricane that was on its way. The impact of the storm is shown in these photos, taken my Mr Tuffin
On Friday Mr Tuffin saw a Dutch military plane landing at the airport, but he was told by hotel staff these were for women and children only. Pictured: General views of the devastation on St Martin
Despite the desperate situation they found themselves in, Mr Tuffin said the staff at the hotel and some six hundred guests joined together to share provisions and protect each other
After filling pots and pans with water and bringing in provisions from the supermarket, they settled down for the night, before being woken up at 3am by the sound of the storm.
‘By 5am it was really bad,’ Mr Tuffin said. ‘We went inside the bathroom and padded it out with some of the sofa seat cushions and just waited.
‘There was a constant howling noise and the sound of things getting ripped apart.
‘By the morning we looked out and the devastation was horrendous. Every car was upside down, with their windows smashed out, and houses had lost their roofs.
‘But the worst part was that we could not contact the outside world.
‘There were a couple of bars of mobile signal in one part of the resort, which I used to phone my family, but it was hard to get through to anyone else.’
At least 28 people were killed when the storm battered the Caribbean. Pictured: Scenes of devastation on St Martin, captured by Mr Tuffin
These minibuses were left with their windows shattered in one of the many scenes of devastation seen on the island
Dozens of other tourists on the Dutch-French island described cowering in their hotel rooms amid reports up to 600 looters are running riot
One soldier posted on the island said he was ‘stopping a looter every 10 minutes’. Pictured: A devastated street
Pictured is a courtyard strewn with tree branches and other debris following the category five hurricane
On Friday Mr Tuffin saw a Dutch military plane landing at the airport, but he was told by hotel staff these were for women and children only.
After another terrifying night, he woke up to on Saturday morning to a knock at the door and a worker telling him the US Army was ferrying Americans from the airport.
Thinking that his American visa would get him on board, he went to queue up only to be told by a Marine that they would not be able to take him.
But after waiting until all the Americans had boarded, one of the soldiers said the remaining tourists – seven Britons, a German couple and several French people – would be allowed to join the flight.
The British tourist slammed the UK authorities for not doing enough to help, and he stressed there were still tourists trapped on the island who needed urgent aid
He said: ‘The hotel did a good job with helping people, including housing other people who were made homeless and everyone shared what they had’
‘That was one of the most heart-wrenching feelings ever,’ Mr Tuffin said.
‘But we persevered and eventually when all the Americans had been taken onboard the soldiers said we could join to.
‘So, thank God, the American Army saved the day, and we flew in a Hercules to San Juan, on Saturday. And there we got a hotel and yesterday I left to New York.’
Despite the desperate situation they found themselves in, Mr Tuffin said the staff at the hotel and some six hundred guests joined together to share provisions and protect each other.
But he slammed the British authorities for not doing enough to help, and he stressed there were still tourists trapped on the island who needed urgent aid.
On Saturday, Mr Tuffin was eventually able to board a US Army plane that was leaving for Puerto Rico
He said: ‘Thank God, the American Army saved the day, and we flew in a Hercules to San Juan, on Saturday. And there we got a hotel and yesterday I left to New York’
He added: ‘It was an absolutely terrifying five days, and the situation is still so bad there with people still in desperate need of help.
‘The hotel did a good job with helping people, including housing other people who were made homeless and everyone shared what they had.
‘We did not get any information from the British government and just felt completely trapped.
‘I got through to them and heard that they had my details and I should wait for information and to wait for the local authorities.
‘But there were no local authorities – there was no information from anyone. There must be Britons still there. I just don’t know what the UK is doing.’
Pictured are military personnel at the Princess Juliana International Airport, where the US Army plane took off on Saturday
He added: ‘It was an absolutely terrifying five days, and the situation is still so bad there with people still in desperate need of help.’ Pictured: The scene on board the Hercules
A FCO spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We have been in regular contact with the Dutch and the Americans since the onset of this crisis to co-ordinate our response and help for all those affected.
‘We understand that evacuation is based on individual need, rather than nationality, with the most vulnerable prioritised. A number of British citizens have been evacuated from St Maarten by the US.
‘We are in touch with British nationals on St Maarten and have advised them to follow the local advice on the ground.
‘We have already deployed staff to Curacao to help British nationals evacuated there and we are expecting to get a team to Saint Maarten in the next day to provide further assistance.’
MailOnline has contacted Delta Airlines for comment.