75 Trinidad and Tobago nationals repatriated from St Vincent

The Ministry of National Security repatriated 75 Trinidad and Tobago nationals on Thursday morning from St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The group returned to the country on the Galleon Passage ferry, which was used to transport relief items to Vincentians affected by the activity of La Soufriere volcano.

The repatriated citizens, along with humanitarian officials, members of the defence force, immigration officers, and media personnel, including Newsday's Stephon Nicholas, were sent into quarantine on arrival.

The ministry said the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) co-ordinated a shipment of 100 pallets of water to St Vincent via Tropical Shipping on Thursday afternoon.

On Tuesday, through the Ministry of National Security, the government sent 50 members of the Defence Force (TTDF) as well as relief supplies.

Around 260 tonnes of relief items collected by the ODPM were transported to St Vincent. They included water, food essentials, sanitary supplies, tents, medical supplies, hygiene materials, cleaning supplies, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other items requested such as water tanks and buckets.

The ministry said, “The TTDF contingent comprised personnel from engineering, infantry/provost, medical and logistics, and were also accompanied by representatives from the TT Red Cross Society and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of SVG at this challenging time.”

The ministry thanked all who contributed towards the relief efforts and urged the public to continue sending in contributions.

It also said, “TT remains in contact with the authorities in SVG and will continue to monitor their situation and provide further humanitarian and relief assistance as needed.”