Diplomats hunt door to door for missing Haiti Britons

British diplomats are carrying out door-to-door searches for missing Britons in Port-au-Prince in an attempt to trace potential victims of the earthquake.

The eight-strong team of officials, backed up by security guards, has been trawling through Haiti's capital city in a hunt for British nationals still unaccounted for nearly two weeks after the disaster.

Officials say a "handful" remain missing, while more than 75 who were feared dead have been found safe and well. At least four were found in recent days, and the diplomats remain hopeful that further discoveries could be made over coming days.

Haiti's government has declared an end to the country's emergency search-and-rescue phase. More than 130 people have been found underneath the rubble by overseas volunteers.

Diplomats found some of the British nationals by using Facebook and Flickr to send messages to those believed to have been in Haiti at the time of the quake.

Messages have also been posted on local Haitian media websites, and the Linkdin business networking site.

Britain's ambassador to Haiti, Steven Fisher, expressed optimism that the specialist search team would achieve further success in locating the remaining missing British nationals.

"I am really pleased with the success that we have had," he said. "There have been particular problems with difficult communications, limited resources and patchy information, and the team have been working in a difficult and at times dangerous place."

A list of names, compiled by the British consul in Haiti, of Britons believed to have been in the country mainly comprises those working for the United Nations and aid organisations.

Some business people are also thought to be in Port-au-Prince, as well as Britons of Haitian origin or who had married into a Haitian family. A small number of Britons who were not known to be in Haiti have also been found there.

One Britain so far has been declared dead in the disaster. Frederick Wooldridge, of West Peckham, Kent, was working as a senior political affairs and planning officer at the UN when its building collapsed. His family said the 41-year-old had "loved" his work and "had many friends in the UN and beyond".

The Foreign Office's "rapid deployment team" was selected for expertise in languages and coping with major disasters.

It has been accompanied by security officers to tour the streets of the capital, which has been hit by outbreaks of looting and violence.

Haiti emergency appeal

Merlin is a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee. You can donate to the DEC Haiti appeal online at www.dec.org.uk or by calling 0370 60 60 900.

For more information about Merlin's Haiti response please go to: www.merlin.org.uk or call 020 7014 1714.

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