Two brothers, originally from London, are playing very different roles in the Haitian tragedy.

Dr Ian Miskin, 53, is a lieutenant-colonel in the IDF reserves and was deployed a week ago to Haiti because it was thought that his expertise in treating infectious diseases — he is one of Israel’s foremost specialists in the subject — would be vital in the aftermath of the disaster. He, like the other Israeli medics, has been working long and arduous hours in Port-au-Prince treating the hundreds of Haitian wounded.

His brother Clive, 50, who runs an aviation security company in Dallas, Texas, is anxiously trying to find out about a business associate who may have lost her life in the earthquake.

The brothers, from Hampstead Garden Suburb, emigrated to Israel 40 years ago.

Clive Miskin has spent more than 20 years working in the US, and said that as soon as he heard about the earthquake he tried to reach his colleague, who had been staying in “the infamous Montana Hotel, one of the first buildings to collapse.” She is a Colombian national, a security specialist, and 35 years old.