According to the report, "the bodies were scattered all along the corridors of the communities affected by Hurricane Dorian," with many of the remains being of Haitian Nationals who lived there.
"According to clinicians," it continues, "that number in Abaco alone is around 3,000 following the deadly storm."
BP BREAKING| On Abaco, the recovery of bodies that were left in the heat for more than eight days has begun. Thousands of corpses are being buried. #dorian #Abaco #Bahamas #hurricane | by Bahamas Press pic.twitter.com/RCB6Up7t78
— Bahamas Press (@Bahamaspress) September 10, 2019
That number far exceeds the previously reported number of deaths, initially at 20, then 44, and now 50 reported on Sept. 10.
The Miami Herald has reported that authorities on the islands considered counting bodies "not the priority," focusing their efforts instead on initial rescue efforts and identifying those found first. People are sharing news of the death toll rising in the Bahamas, from personal social media accounts and media from reporters like Vic Micolucci of WJXT.
“I saw 80 bodies, there are at least 1,000 people dead on my island,” says Steven from Abaco. He lost his home, waited 3 days to be airlifted to Nassau. @wjxt4 pic.twitter.com/9KpIPu08EN
— Vic Micolucci WJXT (@WJXTvic) September 7, 2019
President Donald Trump announced on Monday he would not allow people from the Bahamas to come to the United States, unless they have "totally proper documentation," according to Newsweek, despite the fact that many of those needing passage have lost all of their documents and possessions.
"Look, the Bahamas had some tremendous problems with people going to the Bahamas that weren't supposed to be there," said Trump. "I don't want to allow people that weren't supposed to be in the Bahamas to come into the United States, including some very bad people and some very bad gang members and some very, very bad drug dealers.
"State legislators are collaborating to aid recovery efforts from Florida. Rep. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat who has family in the Bahamas, is organizing supply drives from his Broward County district. Jones is advocating for the reversal of new immigration restrictions on Bahamian evacuees.
With it already being difficult for Bahamians to get from Freeport to Nassau, the US Government just made it even harder. US states that: pic.twitter.com/BKtV470C03
— Shevrin “Shev” Jones (@ShevrinJones) September 10, 2019
Rep. Scott Plakon, a Republican and vocal Trump supporter, is working with Air Unlimited to gather supplies.
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This article appears in Sep 5-12, 2019.