BREAKING: Brazil Sending Air Force Aircraft to Sint Maarten Tuesday to Rescue Brazilian Citizens

I’ve just learned that the Government of Brazil is sending an Air Force aircraft to St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport with relief supplies on Tuesday (tomorrow). The aircraft will immediately take Brazilian citizens off the island and back to Brazil. Press release below.

Brazilian citizens who desire to leave the island should get to the airport Tuesday/tomorrow before 1 PM. The flight is currently scheduled to leave SXM around 3 PM. Arrive as early as possible.

Brazil is sending FAB (@portalfab) plane to rescue Brazilians on Caribbean island: https://t.co/rrSQtxe4Hw pic.twitter.com/cFSDplYQ63

— Brazil Gov News (@BrazilGovNews) September 11, 2017

Here is the full text of the release:

Brazilian Air Force Aircraft is expected to take off for Saint Martin next Tuesday (12). So far, about 60 Brazilians have been reported to be on three islands in the region

The Brazilian government has decided to deploy an aircraft from the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) next Tuesday (12) to rescue Brazilians on the island of Saint Martin, one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Irma. Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) announced the decision through a statement released on Sunday (10) night.

The ministry has been closely monitoring the situation of the Brazilians affected by Irma’s passage in the islands of Saint Martin, Tortola and Turks and Caicos, all of which suffered total or partial collapses of transportation, communications and supply infrastructure.

To date, about 60 Brazilians have been reported on these three islands, including about 30 in Saint Maarten (Dutch side of Saint Martin), 2 in Saint Martin (French side), 22 in Tortola and 11 in Turks and Caicos.

According to the Itamaraty (the headquarters of Brazil’s Foreign Ministry), actions are underway to enable the extraction of Brazilians from British territories in coordination with the UK government, since the runway at Tortola airport, one of the British Virgin Islands, does not allow aircraft to land in its current conditions.

A real-time communication network was set up with all consular posts directly involved to serve all Brazilians in the region. So far, the service centres and overseas posts have received hundreds of calls and messages from Brazilians in the affected regions and their relatives and friends.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Brazil’s Embassies in France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were requested in the first hours after the hurricane to make urgent contacts with their respective chancelleries to verify what plans were in place for the rescue and evacuation of nationals in the respective islands, so as to verify the possibility of including Brazilians in those operations.

Services

Relatives who have difficulty contacting people in the areas affected by the hurricane can call the Brazilian Assistance Centre in Brasilia at +55 61 2030-8803/8804 from 8 am to 8 pm or by e-mail at dac@itamaraty.gov.br . Between 8 pm and 8 am, telephone nos. +55 61-98197-2284 (Consular Services) and +55 61-99834-6963 (Consular Services for services related to the Caribbean islands) can also be reached.

For Brazilians in Florida, the local Brazilian Consulate-General can be reached at (+1) 305-801.6201 / 305-285.6208 / 305-285.6258 / 305-285.6251 / 305-285.6213.