THE island’s chief minister said he was unaware that a hurricane was on the way until he had crossed the Atlantic for the OECD Global Conference.

Deputy Lyndon Trott (pictured) and the Guernsey delegation were airlifted from Los Cabos, Mexico, where the conference was due to be held, to escape the path of Hurricane Jimena.

Speaking from Mexico City, where the conference is now taking place, Deputy Trott said he had only learned of the impending hurricane after arriving in the United States en route to Mexico.

‘My first thoughts were how often is Los Cabos affected by hurricanes of this magnitude?’ he said.

‘I was told that “It’s the biggest one forecast to hit the coast in 20 years.”

The meteorological atmosphere was very humid within the region, said Deputy Trott.

‘The social atmosphere was distinct between those who came from hurricane regions like the Cayman Islands and who had experienced the effects first hand and the likes of ourselves, who could only imagine.’

Deputy Trott said the message on the island’s implementation processes on tax information exchange agreements had, following his initial speech, been well received at the conference.