City star in plea for help

Hull City striker Jozy Altidore has begged people to help survivors of the Haiti earthquake, which has flattened homes and left thousands dead.

The quake, which measured 7.3 on the Richter scale, struck the Caribbean country on Tuesday.

It is believed to have been the most powerful earthquake to have hit Haiti in more than 200 years.

Altidore, whose parents Joseph and Giselle both hail from the impoverished country, posted his plea on Internet social networking site Twitter.

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He wrote: "My roots was just hit by an earthquake. Please have the people of Haiti in your heart.

"Haiti is one of the poorest countries on the planet.

"If you have any sort of heart at all, if you are a mother or father, put yourself in the parents shoes who are worrying about their young ones.

"Please don't sit and just watch CNN. Get up and do something, make a donation. Put yourself there and imagine how scared and torn you would be. Please do anything you can to help them. I beg of you."

His friend, Grammy Award-winning musician Wyclef Jean, responded to his plea by posting the message: "Hit me man. Whatever is needed."

Wyclef, who was born in Haiti, publicly called on the international community to offer emergency assistance to his countrymen.

Altidore was born in New Jersey, United States, to Haitian immigrant parents and has represented the US football team at almost every level.

According to the US Geological Survey, the quake was centred about 10 miles west of the capital Port-au-Prince.

The disaster comes after years of insecurity, political instability and extreme violence in Haiti.

Unicef, the global children's organisation, ranks Haiti 148th out of 179 countries on the United Nations Development Programme human development index.

It states the country has a "highly skewed" distribution of wealth.

Only one in 50 Haitians holds a steady, wage-earning job, with many people struggling for basic necessities such as food, clean water and education.

The quake was felt in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola, and some panicked residents in the capital of Santo Domingo fled from their shaking homes.

However, no major damage was reported there.

The UK Foreign Office last night confirmed it had received around 20 calls from people concerned for family members believed to have been in the region of the earthquake.