S. Koreans start evacuating Haiti with one still missing

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead paras; UPDATES with reports of South Koreans exiting
the quake-hit nation)
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean businessman remained missing in Haiti
on Thursday, one day after the small country in the Caribbean was hit by an
earthquake of 7.0-magnitude while those who survived the powerful quake and a
series of aftershocks began fleeing the devastated nation, an official at Seoul's
foreign ministry said.
"A group of 17 Korean residents in Haiti are currently moving toward the nearby
Dominican Republic," the official said, noting a number of other South Korean
residents and travelers there have also begun their journey to safe places in
neighboring states, including Panama.
About 70 South Koreans were living or staying in Haiti when the country was hit
by the powerful earthquake and a following tsunami and two aftershocks of 5.9 and
5.0 magnitudes.
All but one have been confirmed safe while three South Korean businesspeople,
earlier believed buried in a destroyed hotel, have also safely made out of the
collapsed building, according to ministry officials.
The only South Korean still missing, a local businessman identified only by his
surname Suh, has yet to be heard from while South Korean diplomats in Dominica
said severed power and communication lines were seriously hindering their efforts
to confirm the person's whereabouts.
The country sent a group of five diplomats and volunteers from Dominica to help
confirm the safety of the missing South Korean and the evacuation of others.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)