Charity worker Phillip Rego was "hoping and praying" last night that his orphans in Haiti escaped the devastating earthquake there.

A 7.3-magnitude quake is feared to have caused major loss of life in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Mr. Rego's Eden Garden Orphanage, around 40 miles west of the quake zone, has not been affected, but he said: "The thing I am fearful for is I had to send four kids into Port-au-Prince to go to the hospital this morning. They were very sick. I'm hoping and praying they did get out of there.

"I am in Bermuda right now but it would be interesting to be there to help out. A lot of these kids have no father, no mother. Can you imagine how they would be if something happened?"

Mr. Rego has close ties with a medical clinic in the capital, and wired $1,000 in aid yesterday shortly before the quake struck at 4.53 p.m local time (5.53 p.m Bermuda time.)

"It was good timing," he said. "I expect it will be hard to get things through now." He's been unable to reach the clinic by telephone since the catastrophe struck.

Mr. Rego plans to launch a local fund-raising drive to help the victims as soon as possible. See tomorrow's edition of The Royal Gazette for more information.

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