Haiti calls end to search effort
Source: Agencies |
January 24, 2010, Sunday
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HAITI'S government has declared the search and rescue phase for survivors of the earthquake over, the United Nations said yesterday, saying there was little hope of finding more people alive 10 days after the quake.
The UN statement comes a day after an Israeli team reported pulling a man out of the debris of a two-story home and relatives said an elderly woman had been rescued.
Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said she was unable to comment on the rescue reports. But she said the government's Friday afternoon decision didn't mean rescue teams still searching for survivors would be stopped from carrying out whatever work they felt necessary.
"It doesn't mean the government will order them to stop. In case there is the slightest sign of life, they will act," she said.
She added, however, that "except for miracles, hope is unfortunately fading."
Some 132 people have been pulled alive from beneath collapsed buildings by international search and rescue teams since the January 12 disaster, she said.
Humanitarian relief efforts are still being scaled up in the capital Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Leogane and other areas affected by the quake, Byrs added.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said yesterday no decision had yet been taken to halt their search and rescue operations.
The Israeli delegation was initially intended to be in Haiti for two weeks. However the spokeswoman said it was continuously assessing the situation to see whether they should continue or not.
On Friday, the Israeli team that rescued 21-year-old Emmannuel Buso said relatives approached asking for help. They pulled away the debris of a two-story home and called out. To everyone's surprise, Buso responded.
The 7.0-magnitude quake killed an estimated 200,000 people, according to Haitian government figures cited by the European Commission.
Countless dead remained buried in thousands of collapsed and toppled buildings in Port-au-Prince, while as many as 200,000 have fled the city of 2 million, the US Agency for International Development reported.
About 609,000 people are homeless in the Port-au-Prince area, and the United Nations estimates that up to 1 million people could leave Haiti's destroyed cities for rural areas already struggling with extreme poverty.
Some were expected yesterday to gather for the funeral of the archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot, near the ruins of his cathedral.
Scores of aid organizations have stepped up deliveries of food, water and medical supplies to the needy.
The UN statement comes a day after an Israeli team reported pulling a man out of the debris of a two-story home and relatives said an elderly woman had been rescued.
Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said she was unable to comment on the rescue reports. But she said the government's Friday afternoon decision didn't mean rescue teams still searching for survivors would be stopped from carrying out whatever work they felt necessary.
"It doesn't mean the government will order them to stop. In case there is the slightest sign of life, they will act," she said.
She added, however, that "except for miracles, hope is unfortunately fading."
Some 132 people have been pulled alive from beneath collapsed buildings by international search and rescue teams since the January 12 disaster, she said.
Humanitarian relief efforts are still being scaled up in the capital Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Leogane and other areas affected by the quake, Byrs added.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said yesterday no decision had yet been taken to halt their search and rescue operations.
The Israeli delegation was initially intended to be in Haiti for two weeks. However the spokeswoman said it was continuously assessing the situation to see whether they should continue or not.
On Friday, the Israeli team that rescued 21-year-old Emmannuel Buso said relatives approached asking for help. They pulled away the debris of a two-story home and called out. To everyone's surprise, Buso responded.
The 7.0-magnitude quake killed an estimated 200,000 people, according to Haitian government figures cited by the European Commission.
Countless dead remained buried in thousands of collapsed and toppled buildings in Port-au-Prince, while as many as 200,000 have fled the city of 2 million, the US Agency for International Development reported.
About 609,000 people are homeless in the Port-au-Prince area, and the United Nations estimates that up to 1 million people could leave Haiti's destroyed cities for rural areas already struggling with extreme poverty.
Some were expected yesterday to gather for the funeral of the archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Monsignor Joseph Serge Miot, near the ruins of his cathedral.
Scores of aid organizations have stepped up deliveries of food, water and medical supplies to the needy.
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