John McNeil, a 20-year-old university graduate, rang his parents in Brisbane yesterday from a payphone in the foyer of the New Orleans Hilton, where about 60 foreign tourists, including 10 Australians, were sheltering under armed guard after they were rescued from the Superdome by US military personnel.
In a brief telephone call, John told his father, businessman Peter McNeil, of chaos and lawlessness in the Superdome, where more than 20,000 refugees sought shelter after the hurricane.
"He saw murders, stabbings and rapes in there," Mr McNeil said.
Bo Boeheringer of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said gangs of looters, some in boats, were firing on rescuers as they tried to pull people off roofs.
Rescue teams were forced to pull back on numerous occasions, Boeheringer said.
This is the human race at it's purest form. This is nature's finest piece of art. It is so beautiful.
