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.
