RELATIVES of an Essex woman missing in disaster-struck Haiti said they feared the worst tonight as rescuers desperately searched for survivors among the rubble.

RELATIVES of an Essex woman missing in disaster-struck Haiti said they feared the worst tonight as rescuers desperately searched for survivors among the rubble.

United Nations worker Ann Barnes, 59, has been unaccounted for since the building she was in collapsed during Tuesday's devastating earthquake which has left as many as 50,000 dead.

Irene Marquet said she believed her “wonderful” sister was buried among the rubble of the UN's headquarters in the Haiti capital of Port-au-Prince.

She said: “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.

“All I know is that at the time of the earthquake, she was on the second floor of the main building.”

When asked whether she feared the worst, Mrs Marquet said: “Absolutely.”

The Red Cross estimated the death toll was between 45,000 and 50,000 but it is feared millions more have been injured, orphaned or made homeless.

Ms Barnes, who is originally from Leigh-on-Sea, had no children and was not married but had a partner on the island, her sister said.

Ms Barnes - a personal assistant to the UN police commissioner - had worked for the UN for more than 20 years and had lived in Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Cyprus and Congo since leaving Essex aged about 20.

The former British Airways stewardess had been in Haiti for more than two years.