The family of a British woman missing in the Haiti earthquake said that they were preparing for the worst last night, as the Government admitted that it was struggling to locate all British citizens in the country.
Ann Barnes, 59, a United Nations worker originally from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, has been unaccounted for since Tuesday.
She is thought to have been on the second floor of the UN headquarters when it collapsed.
As rescue teams combed through the rubble for survivors and struggled to identify the dead, Ms Barnes’s sister Irene Marquet said she felt sure that her sister was among the casualties.
“There’s been absolutely no trace, which is horrendous. One wants to remain hopeful but it gets more and more difficult as time goes on,” said Mrs Marquet, a pensioner living in the South of France.
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“All I know is that at the time of the earthquake she was on the second floor of the main building.
“She must be still there in the rubble which is an awful thing to know.
“I believe everything is being done but it is desperate. Living so far away it has been difficult to maintain any contact but the rescue workers have been keeping me up to date by e-mail and by one satellite conversation.“
When asked whether she feared the worst, Mrs Marquet said: “Absolutely.”
Ms Barnes, who was working as personal assistant to the UN police commissioner in Haiti, has been based in the country for more than two years.
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The former British Airways stewardess has worked for the UN for more than 20 years, living in Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Cyprus and the Congo since leaving Essex.
Her sister said that she has no children, and is unmarried, but had a partner on the island.
“I was extremely proud of what she was doing out there and full of admiration,” said Mrs Marquet, who described her sister as “fantastic”.
“She’s a wonderful, wonderful person,” added Mrs Marquet. “A vivacious person. I don’t just say that as her sister — everyone who knows her would say the same.”
“Ann holds a pilot’s licence, is world-travelled and never afraid in the face of all the dangers she risks in all her missions. Ann has always lived her life to its fullest limits.”
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Ms Barnes’s cousin, Christine Hart, 69, of Hornchurch, Essex, said that the family were fast losing hope, as they awaited developments.
“Every little opening we just want to grab hold of,” said Mrs Hart.
“We’re clutching at straws. We know that she was on the second floor when it happened.
“Ann’s partner sent an e-mail to her sister saying she was definitely in the building.
“He had seen her for lunch that day. She was happy as ever but that was the last time we know of anyone seeing her.
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“It’s just awful. It was so quick. There was nothing anyone could do.”
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has confirmed that a British UN worker is among the missing, although there were no confirmed British casualties.
It is not known exactly how many Britons were in Haiti at the time of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake, although more than 30 have since confirmed they are safe and well.
Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, said that consular officials were still trying to find Britons caught up in the disaster.
“It is not yet the position that all British nationals have been accounted for, but that is understandable in the context in which we are trying to obtain that information and that assurance,” Mr Alexander told Sky News.
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He added: “It’s a very difficult situation, it’s chaotic with very poor communication.”
Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which overseas the international response to major disasters, said: “There is a problem with identification of the victims. We know so far there are 36 UN staff among the victims, but we cannot confirm anything further at this stage.
The total number of missing UN workers has reached nearly 200, with 36 confirmed dead.
Other countries were also battling against the chaos to confirm how many of their citizens were among the missing.
Brazil reported that at least 14 of its peacekeepers had been killed, while the Chinese Government said that four of its peacekeepers were buried in the rubble and another four Chinese citizens were still missing.
Six French citizens have been confirmed dead, according to the French foreign ministry, while the fate of 22 Dutch citizens — 17 adults and five children — believed to have been in Haiti at the time of the earthquake is still unknown.
A 61-year-old Austrian woman working for a German aid development organisation is known to have died in hospital from injuries suffered when a wall collapsed.
One Canadian UN worker has been found dead and another remains missing, police in Ottawa said.