The airport at Port au Prince was fortunate enough to have an operational runway. The biggest air problem is apron space. Once 12 a/c from various countries were on the ground and starting to unload. Congestion overtook the space available. Tacked onto that the fact that fuel is not available, nor air traffic control. This will be sorted out over the next day or so. No night flights are allowed in currently due to space and lack of electricity. Problems beset more problems. Canada still has 1 RCMP officer missing .The missing Mounty is Supt. Doug Coates from Ottawa headquarters.
Sadly the body of Sgt. Mark Gallagher of Nova Scotia, has been positively Identified. May he Rest in Peace. Condolences to his family and loved ones.
One rescue has been confirmed by Premier Jean Charest.
Former Liberal MP Serge Marcil, who now works in the private sector, has been located in Haiti, CBC News has confirmed.
Marcil had only been in Port-au-Prince a couple of hours when the Haitian capital was hit by a powerful earthquake Tuesday. He had been unaccounted for in the wake of the earthquake.
A spokesperson for Quebec Premier Jean Charest said Thursday that a UN official contacted Marcil's family to tell them he had been been found. Marcil was reportedly injured and was taken to Miami for medical attention
I learned from the family, Charest told reporters in Quebec City.
Marcil's son works in Charest's office.
Advance dart team packing Gear.
CTV.ca News Staff
A massive military transport aircraft, loaded with members of the country's disaster response unit and humanitarian supplies, has landed in the disaster-struck capital of Haiti.
The first members of the Canadian Forces squad called DART, or Disaster Assistance Response Team, arrived aboard the loaded C-17 Globemaster cargo plane around noon.
They include search-and-rescue technicians who will rush in with equipment and excavation tools to try to pluck out survivors who might still be caught under the rubble.
They hit the ground running, Defence Minister Peter MacKay told a press briefing Thursday.
They were met by 20 members of an advance reconnaissance squad who had arrived Wednesday aboard a C-130 Hercules to assess the immediate needs and determine a strategy for providing aid.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said search and rescue is the first priority for Canadian teams.
Obviously, the first priority is to try and get those people who may be still alive and can be saved, he said. As the days progress, we'll be working on humanitarian and other responses.
In the coming days, a medical platoon and a mobile medical facility will also arrive to help overwhelmed local Haitian hospitals, which have been inundated with injured survivors.
DART electricians will then work to help re-establish power and phone service destroyed by Tuesday's 7.0 magnitude quake, while engineers will help to get roadways and bridges operational again.
Two navy ships loaded with more helicopters and humanitarian supplies have also been dispatched to the area. HMCS Halifax is being sent with a Sea King helicopter, while Destroyer HMCS Athabaskan is scheduled will be laden with additional emergency supplies.
More than 100 Canadians who made their way to the Canadian embassy compound in Port-au-Prince for food, water and medical assistance, have already been evacuated to the Dominican Republic.
They are now being flown back to Canada aboard the Hercules aircraft and are expected to be in Montreal by late tonight.
Two more planes that landed today in Haiti will be available to take out more Canadians in the coming days, with pregnant women and children being given first priority.
Cpl. Curtys Kennedy guards the Canadian Forces CC-177 Globemaster on its arrival in Port-au-Prince, Haiti Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010. (Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
A very helpful e mail from JR this link will give you all the infor on Canada's DART teams Thankyou JR. By the way Operation Hamlet is the name of The Canada /UN MIssion.
Here's a fact sheet on DART. May be helpful to put it on your blog as most people don't have a clue about it. JR http://www.comfec-cefcom.forces.gc.ca/pa-ap/ops/fs-fr/dart-eicc-eng.asp
Not only Canada's Military, NGO's Police forces and various aid groups are helping out a team of Canine Searchers has also been despatched. Canadian Dogs helping others.
Dogs from BC and Alberta will form the Canadian team. Best of luck be with you.. May the Lord be with all the men and women assisting with this disaster
Remember Everyone Deployed
Nil Sine Labore
Robby
