Skepticism surrounds miracle survivor of deadly Haiti quake
Source: Agencies |
February 11, 2010, Thursday
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THE tale seems dubious ... a rice vendor survived 27 days trapped under the rubble of a flea market following Haiti's devastating earthquake.
Skeptical health workers said no one could live that long without water and the last confirmed survivor found was a 16-year-old girl removed from rubble 15 days after the January 12 quake.
The only sources for the story were the two Haitian men who showed up at a clinic carrying the vendor, dehydrated and malnourished with stick-thin legs.
But then the patient became lucid enough to tell his tale on Tuesday. And while his account has not been independently verified, doctors now say the 28-year-old man could have survived on water and possibly some fruit beneath the rubble.
The man - identified as Evans Monsigrace - told doctors he had just finished selling rice for the day at a downtown Port-au-Prince flea market when the quake hit. He said he didn't suffer any major injuries and was trapped on his side in an area where food and drink vendors were selling their goods.
"Based on that, we believe him," said Dr Dushyantha Jayaweera, a physician at the University of Miami Medishare field hospital where hundreds of patients have been treated since the quake.
The story began when the two men first took the vendor to a Salvation Army medical center in Port-au-Prince on Monday, saying he had been trapped since the quake.
He was moved to the hospital because of his condition. "He came in delirious, asking to die," said Nery Ynclan, a University of Miami media officer in Haiti.
Ynclan said he was in a stable condition on Tuesday.
"Someone could not survive 28 days without water," Ynclan said. "You can go nine weeks without food."
Doctors believe disaster survivors may be able to sustain themselves with a water supply for up to two weeks.
Jayaweera said the man originally claimed he had not had any water or food.
The man had normal kidney function with heart palpitations, suggesting he at least had drank something but not enough to avoid getting dehydrated, the doctor said.
Monsigrace's mother said that people clearing rubble downtown discovered him and alerted his brothers.
The quake killed about 230,000 people, the Haitian government said on Tuesday.
Skeptical health workers said no one could live that long without water and the last confirmed survivor found was a 16-year-old girl removed from rubble 15 days after the January 12 quake.
The only sources for the story were the two Haitian men who showed up at a clinic carrying the vendor, dehydrated and malnourished with stick-thin legs.
But then the patient became lucid enough to tell his tale on Tuesday. And while his account has not been independently verified, doctors now say the 28-year-old man could have survived on water and possibly some fruit beneath the rubble.
The man - identified as Evans Monsigrace - told doctors he had just finished selling rice for the day at a downtown Port-au-Prince flea market when the quake hit. He said he didn't suffer any major injuries and was trapped on his side in an area where food and drink vendors were selling their goods.
"Based on that, we believe him," said Dr Dushyantha Jayaweera, a physician at the University of Miami Medishare field hospital where hundreds of patients have been treated since the quake.
The story began when the two men first took the vendor to a Salvation Army medical center in Port-au-Prince on Monday, saying he had been trapped since the quake.
He was moved to the hospital because of his condition. "He came in delirious, asking to die," said Nery Ynclan, a University of Miami media officer in Haiti.
Ynclan said he was in a stable condition on Tuesday.
"Someone could not survive 28 days without water," Ynclan said. "You can go nine weeks without food."
Doctors believe disaster survivors may be able to sustain themselves with a water supply for up to two weeks.
Jayaweera said the man originally claimed he had not had any water or food.
The man had normal kidney function with heart palpitations, suggesting he at least had drank something but not enough to avoid getting dehydrated, the doctor said.
Monsigrace's mother said that people clearing rubble downtown discovered him and alerted his brothers.
The quake killed about 230,000 people, the Haitian government said on Tuesday.
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