At least 30 members of Haiti’s soccer federation, players among them, die in earthquake

At least 30 Haiti soccer deaths in quake

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — At least 30 members of Haiti’s soccer federation, including an undetermined number of players, died in the country’s earthquake, regional soccer authorities said Tuesday.

In addition, the president of the Dominican Olympic committee said he was told by his Haitian counterpart that at least seven Haitian athletes from Olympic sports died.

The soccer dead included referees, coaches, administrators and medical officials, the Caribbean Football Union said. Haiti’s federation’s headquarters collapsed during last week’s quake.

Federation president Yves Jean Bart survived, the Caribbean Football Union said in its report to soccer’s world governing body in Switzerland.

Horace Burrell of Jamaica, vice president of the Caribbean group, visited Haiti over the weekend. He said Bart told him of the federation members who had died. Bart said 20 more were still buried in the rubble or unaccounted for. It was not clear how many players were in the building when it collapsed.

Burrell’s report said federation officials were meeting when the quake struck.

“Words cannot describe what I have seen in Haiti. It is heartbreaking,” Burrell said in his report to FIFA vice president Jack Warner, who also heads the North American, Central American and Caribbean region known as CONCACAF.

Burrell said he met Bart at the airport.

“His injuries and bandages remain stark reminders of his narrow escape from the crumbling building,” Burrell said.

Luis Mejia, president of the Dominican Olympic committee, said Jean Edward Baker, head of Haiti’s Olympic committee, told him of the Haitian Olympic deaths.

Mejia said among the dead were two taekwondo competitors who were training in the building when it collapsed, as well as two boxers and three judo fighters.

Warner said FIFA would donate $250,000 to relief efforts and FIFA vice president Chung Moon-jung was personally donating $500,000. Warner said he would contribute $100,000.