More than 100 'high risk' prisoners escaped on British Virgin Isles after hurricane Irma as islanders now fight over the last scraps of food and evacuated tourists weep with relief that their hell is over
Desperate residents on St Martin have been seen brawling over remaining scraps of food left on the island
The regional police chief said a gang of 600 'local delinquents' were responsible for large scale looting
Exhausted tourists pictured breaking down in tears as they prepare to board evacuation flights from island
People trapped on the island have described the 'biblical-scale destruction' as relief efforts gather pace today
Islanders are taking matters into their own hands, arming themselves with machetes to defend themselves
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is to fly to the Caribbean to visit British territories devastated by Irma
British Cabinet Briefing document suggests 40 'high risk' prisoners are on the loose in the British Virgin Isles
Irma killed 43 people in the Caribbean and at least 11 in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina
By Julian Robinson and Rory Tingle For Mailonline
Published: 03:30 EDT, 12 September 2017 | Updated: 13:04 EDT, 12 September 2017
More than 100 'high risk' prisoners escaped on the British Virgin Islands during Hurricane Irma and around 40 are still on the run on Tuesday, according to a leaked government document.
There have been widespread reports of looting on one of the islands, Tortola, after inmates broke out of a jail amid chaos during the 185mph storm.
Photos of a British Cabinet Briefing paper have now revealed that officials are attempting to 'secure the transfer of the prisoners' to the island of St Lucia.
Meanwhile, British junior foreign minister Alan Duncan told parliament: 'We had a serious threat of a complete breakdown of law and order in the British Virgin islands (BVI). The prison was breached, over 100 very serious prisoners escaped.'
The minister also raised the death toll in British Caribbean territories to nine. Five people died in the BVI and four in Anguilla. The authorities had previously reported one person killed in Anguilla.
It comes as pictures emerged of exhausted tourists being evacuated from the Dutch-French island of St Martin as part of a major international relief effort.
Starving residents on the island have resorted to fighting each other for food while tourists queued at the airport and wept with relief as they were being evacuated from the 'biblical-scale destruction'. Hundreds of holidaymakers are still trying to leave, with dozens lining up outside the Princess Juliana Airport, which was left in ruins in the storm.
There have been reports of people arming themselves with machetes to defend themselves on the island while one soldier said he was stopping attempted lootings every ten minutes.
Exhausted holidaymakers, carrying their suitcases on their laps, are pictured on a flight away from the hurricane-hit island of St Martin last night
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Topic: More than 100 'high risk' prisoners escaped on British Virgin Isles after hurricane Irma as islanders now fight over the last scraps of food and evacuated tourists weep with relief that their hell is over (Read 360 times)
