Accessibility links

Breaking News

Man Pulled Alive From Haiti Earthquake Rubble


Authorities in Haiti say a man has been pulled alive from rubble in Port-au-Prince where he may have been trapped since the January 12 earthquake.

Officials say the severely dehydrated man was buried under a marketplace and was discovered as locals dug at the site. The man's family says he had been trapped the entire time. Doctors working at a local field hospital say the family's assertions cannot be confirmed but that his condition suggests the story could be true.

More than 200,000 people were killed when the quake devastated Haiti four weeks ago. An estimated one million others were left homeless.

Earlier, the United Nations said it is racing against time to provide earthquake survivors with tents capable of withstanding severe weather before the rainy season starts.

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, Kim Bolduc, told reporters in Port-au-Prince by video link Monday that the U.N. has "more or less two months" to provide the tents, and that "in fact time is getting very short because rains could come earlier."

The U.N. has said about a quarter of the one million people left homeless by the earthquake have received tents or plastic sheets.

But the world body says the main concern is bringing in hazard-resistant, hurricane-proof shelter for those who need it. The U.N. says the task has been made more difficult because of the damage to Haiti's main port following the quake.

The Haitian government has appealed for 200,000 tents.

Separately, aid groups have launched an emergency campaign to vaccinate 140,000 people in Haiti against measles and other diseases.

The Haitian Ministry of Health, along with UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization, Monday initiated the campaign, with the International Federation of the Red Cross mobilizing volunteers to administer the vaccines.

The Red Cross said volunteers will focus on Port-au-Prince, since people in the capital area are considered to be most at risk for diseases like measles, diphtheria and tetanus.

In another development, U.S. Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie has met with hospitalized Haitian children in the neighboring Dominican Republic.

Officials at the Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo say the actress toured the facility Monday. She was accompanied by Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, a representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the son of Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa.

Jolie is a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters.

XS
SM
MD
LG