Canadian governor general sobs on TV over Haiti quake

TORONTO - Canadians saw sombre scenes on their televisions Wednesday when their Governor General Michaelle Jean broke down during a press conference on the situation in her native Haiti, which was devastated by an earthquake Tuesday.

Nearly 100,000 are feared dead in the worst disaster to hit the impoverished country in the Caribbean.

Jean, who came to Canada as a refugee in 1968 and went on to become the country’s first black governor general in 2005, sobbed when she spoke about the devastation caused by the earthquake in her ancestral country.

“It’s as if an atomic bomb had fallen over Port-au-Prince (the capital of Haiti). People are stuck in the rubble and there is nothing to help people get out. Hospitals, schools are destroyed. People are in the street with nothing,” the governor general said.

Jean had tears in her eyes when she spoke about the plight of Canadian diplomats stuck in the devastated capital.

Sobbing, she also remembered the missing UN representative in Haiti, Hedi Annabi, as “our dear friend”. Annabi is reportedly trapped underneath the UN office which collapsed.

The governor general said “the night was difficult” for her, and she was trying to connect with her relatives in Port-au-Prince.

A Canadian nurse, who had arrived in Haiti just 90 minutes before the quake struck, was among the foreigners killed in the calamity. Two Canadian police officers are also missing.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper held a crisis management meeting to provide relief to the quake-hit country.

Ottawa is sending relief supplies and life-saving medicine to quake victims and also dispatching its fabled Disaster Assistance Relief Team (DART) to Haiti. DART comprises 200 soldiers who are specially trained for quick relief - drinking water and medical aid - during disasters around the world.

Canada, which has joined hands with the US to organise relief efforts, is also sending initial assistance of $5 million to Haiti.