a Frenchman, Vincent Goiset, found dead in the capital Port-Vila

INTERNATIONAL – The search for victims continues in Vanuatu. Two days after the powerful earthquake which struck the Pacific archipelago and left several dead, the French Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer announced this Wednesday, December 18, the death of a Frenchman in the capital, Port Vila.

“Confirmation of the death of our compatriot Vincent Goiset, French resident in Vanuatu, under the rubble of a collapsed building in the city center. Our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones. The embassy is at your disposal (at the residence) »wrote the diplomat on Facebook. Nouvelle-Calédonie La Première specifies that the victim would be aged around thirty and worked in renovation.

In total, 15 people were declared dead and around a hundred others were injured, the High Commission of the Republic in New Caledonia said on its website. “These data could increase depending on information feedback and rescue operations for people affected by the rubble,” specifies the same source.

2,300 French people in Vanuatu

The earthquake, of magnitude 7.3, occurred Tuesday at 12:47 p.m. local time (2:47 a.m. in Paris) off the coast of the main island of the archipelago, where Port-Vila is located. Much damage was reported, many buildings were destroyed. “The premises housing the French, New Zealand, American and British embassies are also heavily affected”completed the High Commission.

Around 2,300 French people live in Vanuatu, a small archipelago located around 600 km from New Caledonia, according to a diplomatic source at AFP. Given this geographical proximity and the presence of armed forces in New Caledonia – Vanuatu was also a Franco-British colony until 1980 – France mobilized in particular by sending reconnaissance planes to establish the extent of damage. A state of emergency was declared for seven days, as well as a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

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