(CBC News) – One of two Mounties who were missing in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti has been found dead, the RCMP confirmed Thursday.
The body of Sgt. Mark Gallagher was found in the rubble of the residence where he was staying in the capital city.
Gallagher, 50, spoke to his wife Lisa in New Brunswick Wednesday night just half an hour before the earthquake hit to say he was going to bed.
Gallagher had worked as a public relations officer for the RCMP in the Maritimes, but went to Haiti because he wanted more of a challenge, his wife told CBC News.
Another Mountie, Supt. Doug Coates from Ottawa headquarters, is still missing, said spokeswoman Patricia Flood.
Gallagher is the fourth Canadian confirmed dead as a result of the quake. The other three victims include Georges Anglade, a Montreal university professor for 30 years, and his wife, Mireille. They were visiting friends in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and were killed when the house they were in collapsed.
Yvonne Martin, a nurse from Elmira, Ont., who arrived in Haiti’s capital on Tuesday afternoon, about 90 minutes before the earthquake hit, was also among the casualties.
Meanwhile, 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.
“We’ve been trying through all sorts of sources all day to talk to anyone who has information and it’s a great frustration for us right now,” Charest said. “None of us can be in the shoes of those who are experiencing it now, but the frustration of families must be very cruel at this point — because it is difficult, impossible in some circumstances, to talk to people.”
Marcil, who is also a former member of the Quebec legislature, was supposed to stay at the Montana Hotel, one of many buildings that collapsed. It is not known whether he had reached the hotel when the earthquake struck.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said that about 100 Canadians safely removed from Haiti are expected to arrive in Canada Thursday evening.
So far, three Canadians — a Montreal couple and an Ontario nurse — have been confirmed among the dead. Cannon cautioned there could be more Canadian casualties.
“We are deeply saddened by reports of Canadian casualties as a result of the earthquake in Haiti,” Cannon told a news conference. “Unfortunately, the reality in the aftermath of the catastrophic events is that we expect more casualties to be reported as search and rescue operations unfold.”
The first wave of Canadians from Haiti arrived in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday night and were being transported to Montreal on Thursday on a Hercules C-130 aircraft. The aircraft will continue to be used to transport Canadians back to Canada.
Cannon said more than 100 Canadians in Haiti have taken refuge in the Canadian Embassy, while another 48 are being assisted.
“Those people who are injured, who need medical assistance, will be the first to leave,” Cannon said.
Cannon said 24 staff at the Canadian mission in the Haitian capital were accounted for, as were five military personnel.
Martin was among a contingent of six nurses from the Kitchener-Waterloo area sent to Haiti by the Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church.
At the time the quake hit, 82 Canadian police officers were in Haiti teaching law enforcement.
4 Canadians among missing
Another Mountie, Supt. Doug Coates from Ottawa headquarters, was still missing, said spokeswoman Patricia Flood.
UN spokeswoman Alexandra Duguay and UN worker Jean-Philippe Laberge were also among the Canadians unaccounted for.
About 6,000 Canadian citizens live in Haiti, but only 700 are registered with the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Cannon said.
Recent Comments