EXCLUSIVE: Hundreds desperately wait in lines trying to flee the Bahamas after major airport was turned into ‘debris field’ when Hurricane Dorian smashed through and left planes destroyed as volunteers flock to provide aid and rescue animals

• Hundreds of people waited in lines as they tried to board a ship leaving Freeport, Grand Bahama, after the city’s major airport was destroyed after Hurricane Dorian hit the islands on Sunday 
• Bahamian locals were informed there was going to be a ‘free cruise’ ship leaving for the United States, and rushed to line the port with their luggage in anticipation of leaving 
• Some have been sleeping several days in their cars waiting for a ship to arrive and take them anywhere else
• Freeport’s runway was strewn with aircraft parts, with wings ripped from plane bodies and cars littering the runway as officials tried to assess how to handle the wreckage
• While the official death toll stands at 30, that number is expected to rise today and hundreds of body bags have been ordered along with extra freezers
• Up to 70,000 are in need of ‘life-saving assistance’ while Great Abaco is said to be virtually uninhabitable, with bodies piled up and witnesses say there is a ‘smell of death’ with corpses floating in the water
• Volunteers are flocking to Grand Bahama’s main port, dumping supplies from the ship to the street and loading them into box trucks, as some have arrived to help rescue animals that have been left behind

Hundreds of people desperately waited in lines trying to flee the Bahamas Friday afternoon after a major airport was turned into a ‘debris field’ when Hurricane Dorian wreaked havoc on the Caribbean islands and left dozens dead, exclusive DailyMail.com footage shows. 

While the official death toll stands at 30, that number is expected to rise and hundreds of body bags have been ordered along with extra freezers. Up to 70,000 are in need of ‘life-saving assistance’ while Great Abaco is said to be virtually uninhabitable, as witnesses say there is a ‘smell of death’ with corpses floating in the water. 

The Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport sits in ruin as several airplanes have been left destroyed and useless after the catastrophic Category 5 storm battered the islands on Sunday, unleashing deadly 185mph winds.

The airport’s runway was strewn with aircraft parts, with wings ripped from twisted plane bodies and cars littering the runway as officials tried to assess how to handle the wreckage. 

Desperate locals trying to flee Grand Bahama stood with their belongings in endless lines at the city’s port as they waited for a ship to arrive after being told there was going to be a ‘free cruise’ ship leaving for the United States. 

Although it remains unclear if the ship is actually leaving anytime soon, people rushed to get in line. Some have been sleeping several days in their cars waiting for a ship to take them anywhere else.  

Meanwhile, volunteers are flocking to Freeport, dumping supplies from the ship to the street and loading them into box trucks, as some have arrived to help rescue animals that have been left behind.  

Hundreds of people desperately have been waiting in lines trying to flee the Bahamas Friday afternoon after a major airport was turned into a ‘debris field’ when Hurricane Dorian wreaked havoc on the Caribbean islands and left dozens dead, exclusive DailyMail.com footage shows 

Desperate locals trying to flee Grand Bahama were seen stood with their personal belongings in endless lines at the city’s port as they waited for a ship to arrive 

The Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport, Grand Bahama, sits in ruin as several airplanes have been left destroyed and useless after the catastrophic Category 5 storm battered the islands on Sunday, unleashing deadly 185mph winds

The airport’s runway was strewn with aircraft parts, with wings ripped from plane bodies and cars littering the runway as officials tried to assess how to handle the wreckage

Hundreds have gathered hoping to be evacuated today, but efforts have been complicated by flooded runways at Grand Bahama International Airport. Addressing fears the death toll from the disaster will climb, Health Minister Duane Sands warned: ‘Let me say that I believe the number will be staggering’

 Zara Roch (left, center) of Big Dog Ranch Rescue said her team was bringing in both human and pet supplies, including hundreds of pounds of food

Meanwhile, volunteers are flocking to Freeport, dumping supplies from the ship to the street and loading them into box trucks, as some have arrived to help rescue animals that have been left behind. Pictured: Julia Aylen wades through waist deep water carrying her pet dog as she is rescued from her flooded home during Hurricane Dorian 

Pictured: Chella Phillips rescued 97 dogs during the hurricane in her home in Nassau. She said 79 of the dogs i were sheltering inside her master bedroom. She said the dogs were going to the bathroom ‘nonstop…but at least they are respecting my bed and nobody has dared to jump in’

On Friday, the Grand Bahamas Paradise Cruise was the first passenger cruise ship to have permission to park at Freeport, Grand Bahama.

Along with 200 Bahamians going home to their families and homes, there were several South Florida local businesses and 300 volunteers aboard.

The group is the first on the ground, with doctors dispersing to start visiting hospitals and veterinarians packing food bags and visiting clinics. 

John Curtis was on the first ship back to Freeport on Friday, traveling from West Palm Beach, Florida. He had been diverted to the US after trying to return home from Jamaica, where he was getting his daughter set up at school. 

Curtis said he learned from texts from friends and family that his home had weathered the storm, saying it had survived the hurricane to some degree.

He told DailyMail.com: ‘When I learned about the devastation, I’m counting my blessings because save for a few leaks, my home was spared. I do have some relatives whose homes were totally engulfed by water. 

‘At present, I’m heading home. I don’t know the gravity of it of presently. I believe when disasters of this nature happen the resilience of the people, bring people together. I’m certain Freeport will bounce back with all the neighboring assistance.’

Curtis said he didn’t anticipate the hurricane to be as devastating as it was, adding: ‘I’m a bit apprehensive of what I’ll meet when I get in. I can’t speak to the fatalities, it’s going in not knowing if some of your friends and coworkers survived the storm.’ 

On Friday, the Grand Bahamas Paradise Cruise was the first passenger cruise ship to have permission to park at Freeport, Grand Bahama. Along with 200 Bahamians going home to their families and homes, there were several South Florida local businesses and 300 volunteers aboard (pictured)

John Curtis was on the first ship back to Freeport on Friday, traveling from West Palm Beach, Florida. He had been diverted to Florida after trying to return home from Jamaica where he was getting his daughter set up at school. Curtis said he learned from texts from friends and family that his home had survived, saying it had survived the hurricane to some degree. He told DailyMail.com: ‘I’m counting my blessings because save for a few leaks, my home was spared’

Jessica Vilonna, the Director of Marketing for TITOU Hospitality, was on board the ship heading to Freeport with supplies. She told DailyMail.com: ‘We aren’t 100 percent of the full plan, but the idea is that there are tons and tons of supplies that were donated that are on the ship. So the idea is that once we get to port, we will be distributing them’

A massive international relief effort was ramped up today as survivors revealed horrifying details of the ‘apocalyptic’ aftermath of the 185mph, Category-5 storm

Curtis added: ‘I applaud the efforts of the volunteers and those who are seeking to bring some relief to people who have lost everything. This is a good effort that is happening where people are seeking to bring relief to those in need. ‘ 

Jessica Vilonna, the Director of Marketing for TITOU Hospitality, was on board the ship heading to Freeport with supplies. 

She told DailyMail.com: ‘We aren’t 100 percent of the full plan, but the idea is that there are tons and tons of supplies that were donated that are on the ship. So the idea is that once we get to port, we will be distributing them.’

Zara Roch of Big Dog Ranch Rescue said her team was bringing in both human and pet supplies, including hundreds of pounds of animal food.

A massive international relief effort was ramped up today as survivors revealed horrifying details of the ‘apocalyptic’ aftermath of the 185mph, Category-5 storm.

One of them, 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.’

‘No homes. No banks. No gas stations. No hardware stores. Everything is gone,’ she added, as others said they feared the spread of disease.

Hundreds have gathered hoping to be evacuated today, but efforts have been complicated by flooded runways at Grand Bahama International Airport.

Addressing fears the death toll from the disaster will climb, Health Minister Duane Sands warned: ‘Let me say that I believe the number will be staggering.’

Some locals called the government’s initial official death toll a tragic underestimate.

‘You smell the decomposing bodies as you walk through Marsh Harbour,’ said Sandra Sweeting, 37, in an interview amid the wreckage on Great Abaco. ‘It’s everywhere. There are a lot of people who aren’t going to make it off this island.’

Celebrities are doing their part to help raise funds and collect goods needed by those devastated by the hurricane. 

Tyler Perry committed to doing all that he can to aid the people of the Bahamas, writing on Instagram: ‘To all the incredible people of the Bahamas who have welcomed me and called me an adoptive son, I want you to know that I am watching closely, and as soon as I can, I will be there to do whatever I can to help you rebuild stronger and better.’

Perry went on: ‘You’re not only in my heart and my prayers, you’re in my blood. God bless you. Stay Bahamas strong. The sun will shine again. #HurricaneDorian.’

The Hollywood movie producer is using his personal seaplane to deliver supplies to the Abaco Islands and has made two trips so far, according to TMZ.

He’s providing drinking water, sleeping bags, diapers and other basic necessities. The plane has also been used to transport people in need of medical attention. 

Celebrities are doing their part to help raise funds and collect goods needed by those devastated by the hurricane, including Bethenny Frankel (left) and Tyler Perry. The Hollywood movie producer is using his personal seaplane to deliver supplies to the Abaco Islands, while the reality TV star has joined forces with Global Empowerment Mission to send supplies to the islands

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.

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

The image above shows the devastation left after the storm passed Abaco Island yesterday. 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

A view of a looted supermarket after Hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco islands, above and below. The storm struck the island chain as a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane on Sunday and stalled over Abaco and Grand Bahama for the following two days as 185mph winds and torrential rains ravaged countless communities

Rihanna has also described herself as ‘heartbroken’ by the catastrophic damage that’s been caused.

The singer has pledged that her charity the Clara Lionel Foundation, named for her grandparents, would do what it could to help the recovery and humanitarian efforts.

Meanwhile, former Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel has joined forces with Global Empowerment Mission to send supplies to the islands.

She described the hurricane as ‘worst disaster we’ve ever seen’ as she prepares to launch relief missions to the islands.

‘We have people’s coordinates. We are using chainsaws to get people out. We have rafts,’ she said.

‘It’s kind of that pre-beginning where it’s not about clothing. It’s about getting people to safety and finding people and getting e-mails with people who have lost family members and can’t find them. It’s the worst disaster we’ve ever seen- It’s decimated,’ she added.

The reality TV star has been involved in disaster relief efforts since 2017 when she raised over $1 million for the victims of hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

Frankel spoke to FoxNews on Thursday and said that her #BStrong campaign to provide disaster relief to the hurricane torn islands had raised over $750,000 in three days. ‘The donations are every single minute,’ she said.     

Bahamas father puts his boy on a roof top to save him from a shark circling in Dorian flood water – only for the child to be swept away by howling winds

A father has spoken of the horror of watching the battering winds of hurricane Dorian sweep his son away after he put him on a roof to escape a shark in the surrounding flood waters.

‘I still could remember him reaching for me and calling, ‘Daddy,’ ‘ said Adrian Farrington, 38, of Murphy Town on the island of Abaco in the Bahamas.

Farrington was speaking about the moment his five-year-old son called out to him as the winds thrashed him away. He had thought he would be safer out of the water.

As well as the looming sharks, he had struggled to keep the boy’s head above the thundering waves, he told the Nassau Guardian from hospital.

Adrian Farrington can be seen pictured hugging his five-year-old son Adrian Farrington Jr. His son was struggling to hold his breath so his father pushed him up on top of a roof. The force of the hurricane winds pushed him across it into the murky roof

He then tried to make his way to his son, Adrian Farrington Jr., but before he could sit down ‘to hold him,’ the hurricane ‘dragged him across the roof back into the surge.’

Farrington, who also broke his leg during the ordeal, climbed up and crossed through debris to the location he saw his son go under.

He then dived in to the murky water to try to find his son but there was no trace of him.

Farrington had to swim away after his rescue attempts failed.

‘I ain’t find nothing. I come back up. I hold my breath and I gone back down again,’he said.

‘All this time, people carried my wife to safety and they calling me, but I ain’t want to go because I didn’t want to leave my son.’

Adrian Farrington Jr is just one of the missing listed on the Abaco Family Connect Facebook page which has been set up to help those missing to the storm find each other.

His father later made it to a church where he saw hurricane Dorian collapse the walls and crush 12 people seeking refuge inside.

Dorian’s relentless blast through the Bahamas has left 70,000 people in need and civillian cruise ships, private vessels and pilots have joined the international relief effort.

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship, the Empress of the Seas, made a pit stop to drop off 10,000 bottles of water and 10,000 meals to the victims.

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