Bermuda Regiment soldiers today flew out on their trip to help repair damage caused by Hurricane Ike in the Turks and Caicos.

Two United States Coast Guard planes carrying 55 personnel, including some from the Parks Department, as well as equipment and supplies, left L.F. Wade International Airport for the Caribbean this afternoon.

Governor Sir Richard Gozney, Premier Ewart Brown, US Consulate General Gregory Slayton and Public Safety Minister David Burch saw them off with brief speeches before they boarded the aircraft.

Dr. Brown told them TCI Premier Michael Misick had said he was anxiously awaiting their arrival.

The storm is reported to have left 80 per cent of homes on Grand Turk and South Caicos damaged after it made landfall as a Category Four hurricane, with sustained winds over 130 miles per hour.

* Full story and pictures in tomorrow’s Royal Gazette.