More than 23 of Sidney Poitier's family are MISSING in the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian devastated the island and left hundreds of bodies buried under rubble

  • Jeffrey Poitier, 66, said that more than 23 members of his family are missing 
  • More than 500 Bahamians belong to the extended family of Sidney Poitier 
  • Category 5 185mph storm hurricane Dorian has killed at least 46 people  

The nephew of actor Sidney Poitier has said that more than 23 members of his family are feared missing in the aftermath of hurricane Dorian. 

Jeffrey Poitier, 66, said that as of Thursday there was still no news from the relatives, including his sister Barbara and his adult children in Freeport, Bahamas. 

Hurricane Dorian killed at least 46 people after it struck the Bahamas last Sunday as a Category 5 storm with winds as fast as 185mph. 

Up to 70,000 people in the Bahamas are in need of 'life-saving assistance' while Great Abaco is said to be virtually uninhabitable, with bodies piled up and witnesses saying there is a 'smell of death' with corpses floating in the water. 

The nephew of actor Sidney Poitier has said that more than 23 members of his family are feared missing in the aftermath of hurricane Dorian

Jeffrey Poitier, 66, said that as of Thursday there was still no news from the relatives, including his sister Barbara and his adult children in Freeport, Bahamas. Hurricane Dorian killed at least 46 people after it struck the Bahamas last Sunday as a Category 5 storm with winds as fast as 185mph

A woman walks through a destroyed neighbourhood in the wake of hurricane Dorian in Great Abaco, Bahamas

A woman walks through a destroyed neighbourhood in the wake of hurricane Dorian in Great Abaco, Bahamas

An aerial view of the damage caused by hurricane Dorian in Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas

An aerial view of the damage caused by hurricane Dorian in Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas

The image above shows the devastation left after the storm passed Abaco Island. The death toll from devastating Hurricane Dorian will be 'staggering' with thousands still missing, officials have warned amid reports looters are 'trying to shoot people' in the scramble for food and water

The image above shows the devastation left after the storm passed Abaco Island. The death toll from devastating Hurricane Dorian will be 'staggering' with thousands still missing, officials have warned amid reports looters are 'trying to shoot people' in the scramble for food and water

Damaged houses and debris is seen on devastated Great Abaco Island on Thursday, Hurricane Dorian hit the island chain as a category 5 storm battering them for two days before moving north. A massive international relief effort was ramped up today as survivors revealed horrifying details of the 'apocalyptic' aftermath of the 185mph, Category-5 storm.

Damaged houses and debris is seen on devastated Great Abaco Island on Thursday, Hurricane Dorian hit the island chain as a category 5 storm battering them for two days before moving north. A massive international relief effort was ramped up today as survivors revealed horrifying details of the 'apocalyptic' aftermath of the 185mph, Category-5 storm.

Jeffrey said: 'We still couldn't find anyone, nor have we heard from them.

'We are still looking for and waiting for them to appear soon. It has us all worried. 

'We are trying to reach out to them using every means available to us but we are not hearing anything. We are deeply worried.' 

More than 500 Bahamians belong to the extended family of Sidney Poitier, the acclaimed actor who was born in Miami to Bahamian parents and who grew up in the Bahamas, according to Jeffrey Poitier.

Mike Lowe, who is half blind and suffers from diabetes,walks past a boat which has been hurled ashore on Great Abaco Island on Friday. A survivor, Alicia Cooke, broke down in tears as she revealed: 'Everything is gone, people are starting to panic. Pillaging, looting, trying to shoot people for food and water. It's just no way everyone's going to get out.'

Mike Lowe, who is half blind and suffers from diabetes,walks past a boat which has been hurled ashore on Great Abaco Island on Friday. A survivor, Alicia Cooke, broke down in tears as she revealed: 'Everything is gone, people are starting to panic. Pillaging, looting, trying to shoot people for food and water. It's just no way everyone's going to get out.'

A man wheels his bike through the debris, with snapped trees and piles of timber strewn across the landscape in Marsh Harbour today. Hundreds have gathered hoping to be evacuated today, but efforts have been complicated by flooded runways at Grand Bahama International Airport.

A man wheels his bike through the debris, with snapped trees and piles of timber strewn across the landscape in Marsh Harbour today. Hundreds have gathered hoping to be evacuated today, but efforts have been complicated by flooded runways at Grand Bahama International Airport.

Hundreds of people wait in Marsh Harbour Port to be evacuated to Nassau on Friday after the hurricane devastated the island

Hundreds of people wait in Marsh Harbour Port to be evacuated to Nassau on Friday after the hurricane devastated the island

A view of a looted supermarket after Hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco Islands in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, on September 5.  Militias have been formed to stop looting in the devastated Bahamas as the true impact of Hurricane Dorian begins to emerge

A view of a looted supermarket after Hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco Islands in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, on September 5.  Militias have been formed to stop looting in the devastated Bahamas as the true impact of Hurricane Dorian begins to emerge

Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the islands last Sunday. It caused mass destruction turning houses into matchsticks and damaging airports and a public hospital. 

Jeffery Poitier, who is also an actor and who splits his time between New Orleans and Cat Island in the Bahamas, said that he had tried calling his sister repeatedly without an answer. 

He hoped to fly to the Freeport area by helicopter later today to search for her himself.

'It's been very discouraging, very disappointing and very stressful for all of us here in the Americas. It is not easy having to wait for news to find out what happened to your family. I am very worried,' he said.

A boat sits grounded in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, in Marsh Harbor, Abaco Island. Hundreds of desperate survivors gathered at the port in Great Abaco on Friday, hoping to get off the hurricane-devastated island, amid signs of rising frustration over the pace of the disaster-relief effort.

A boat sits grounded in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, in Marsh Harbor, Abaco Island. Hundreds of desperate survivors gathered at the port in Great Abaco on Friday, hoping to get off the hurricane-devastated island, amid signs of rising frustration over the pace of the disaster-relief effort.

The Wildcat helicopter, operating from Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay - which has been stationed in the Caribbean since June in readiness for hurricane season

The Wildcat helicopter, operating from Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay - which has been stationed in the Caribbean since June in readiness for hurricane season

Catastrophic flooding in community of Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island is seen from above on Thursday

Catastrophic flooding in community of Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island is seen from above on Thursday

Once luxurious homes in the town of Marsh Harbour lie completely destroyed after the hurricane tore through the islands

Once luxurious homes in the town of Marsh Harbour lie completely destroyed after the hurricane tore through the islands

Debris from houses is scattered across the landscape and sinks into the water, while a boat has been hurled ashore by the winds

Debris from houses is scattered across the landscape and sinks into the water, while a boat has been hurled ashore by the winds

Poitier said he would have to return to Nassau over the weekend for the planned funeral of another uncle, Reginald Poitier, a family patriarch who died last month in his late 90s. 

'We are all here to support one another in both tragedies,' he said.

Another relative, Kimberly Poitier, said she had been searching for family members from her home in Tampa, Florida, and had sent out a group message hoping to account for relatives in the Bahamas.

She said she had gotten in touch with a family of cousins who had escaped by boat from flooding in Freeport, including a woman named Barbara. For a brief moment, the family tried to figure out whether that could be Jeffrey Poitier's sister.

But after seeing a photo, Jeffery Poitier said in a text message that his sister was still unaccounted for. 

'It's someone different,' he said.

'I am worried and waiting for news,any news will do for now. I need to know.'

A man wanders aimlessly through the debris and rubble on Friday in the Mudd neighbourhood of Marsh Harbour, in the Abaco Islands

A man wanders aimlessly through the debris and rubble on Friday in the Mudd neighbourhood of Marsh Harbour, in the Abaco Islands 

Hundreds of people with bags if luggage wait to be evacuated in private boats at the Marsh Harbor port on Friday. Many are being transported to North Eleuthera Island where they would later be moved to Nassau.

Hundreds of people with bags if luggage wait to be evacuated in private boats at the Marsh Harbor port on Friday. Many are being transported to North Eleuthera Island where they would later be moved to Nassau.

The Bahamas are facing a humanitarian crisis in the wake of Hurricane Dorian as at least 70,000 people are in need of 'life-saving assistance' and the death toll, which reached 30 on Thursday, is expected to climb. Aliana Alexis, of Haiti, stands in the wreckage of her home in a shantytown called The Mudd at Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island on Thursday

The Bahamas are facing a humanitarian crisis in the wake of Hurricane Dorian as at least 70,000 people are in need of 'life-saving assistance' and the death toll, which reached 30 on Thursday, is expected to climb. Aliana Alexis, of Haiti, stands in the wreckage of her home in a shantytown called The Mudd at Marsh Harbour on Great Abaco Island on Thursday

A woman comforts a man who cries after discovering his shattered house and not knowing anything about his eight relatives who lived there, missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, in High Rock, Grand Bahama, on Thursday

A woman comforts a man who cries after discovering his shattered house and not knowing anything about his eight relatives who lived there, missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, in High Rock, Grand Bahama, on Thursday

Hurricane Dorian's eye, timelapse captured by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano during his mission to the International Space Station

Hurricane Dorian's eye, timelapse captured by ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano during his mission to the International Space Station

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