Radio Offers Lifeline to Anxious Haitians

Following the powerful earthquake which hit Haiti on Tuesday, worried relatives are looking to a New York station for news.

Brooklyn's Radio Soleil d'Haiti has been taking calls from local Haitians desperate to hear the latest on the state of the country.

Picture by Yana Paskova, New York Times

One caller shared a rumour with DJ Ricot Dupuy that Haiti's presidential palace had collapsed (it has been damaged, but still stands). Others looked for news of relatives.

Dupuy says it's been impossible to answer many of the callers' queries due to communication channels with Haiti being knocked out.

He told ABC News, "I did get through for two-and-a-half minutes before getting cut off."

There are also concerns that the owner of Radio Melodie, a popular station in Haiti, and his wife were killed in the quake. The rumour's yet to be confirmed or quashed.

Due to the communication problems, Dupuy's had little choice but to continue playing the same feed over and over on air.

Nervous family members still linger around the Radio Soleil d'Haiti studios, as they await more news from the presenter's contacts. So far, relief has come to few.