KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — A contingent of 120 Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) soldiers departed the island yesterday to provide recovery and humanitarian support to The Bahamas following the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian.

They were accompanied by 11 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force, which provided airlift support.

At least 43 persons in the Bahamas have died and homes and infrastructure destroyed as a result of Hurricane Dorian, which hit the country as a Category Five system.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who met with the troops at the Norman Manley International Airport ahead of the departure, expressed gratitude to the Canadian Government for facilitating the deployment of the JDF Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to The Bahamas.

“This is now the second time that the Governments of Jamaica and Canada and the defence forces of both countries have worked together to provide airlift for the Disaster Assistance Response Team,” he said, noting the airlift support provided for the deployment of the JDF to Dominica in the aftermath of a hurricane in 2017.

The prime minister said that the JDF is prepared to assist in any area that The Bahamian Government may require but in the initial stages, the focus will be on recovery, search and rescue, logistics, medical assistance and any emergency engineering needs.

“So far, what we have seen is that in the initial stages there will be need for recovery assistance because the damage was so extensive; there will be need for logistics assistance as well,” he noted.

Holness said the Government of Jamaica is considering other ways of supporting the people of The Bahamas, noting that he has been in close contact with the country’s Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.