 |
Haiti
France, US pledge help in rescue efforts after school collapse
Article published on the 2008-11-08 Latest update 2008-11-08 14:02 TU
Rescue efforts at La Promesse school in Haiti.
(Photo: AFP)
At least 80 children and teachers are dead after a schoolhouse collapsed in the outskirts of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince Friday. The United States and France have both sent rescue teams to help save anyone still alive trapped under the rubble.
The three-story La Promesse school in Petion-ville caved in during classes Friday morning around 10 am. Late in the day, the bodies of 50 children and teachers had been pulled from the rubble, rescue officials said.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said that he is preparing to send a team of rescue workers as soon as possible, after already giving the order for firefighters from nearby Martinique to help in the ongoing rescue efforts.
The US Agency for International Development dispatched 38 emergency search-and-rescue workers, four search dogs and 31, 000 pounds of rescue equipment Friday night, set to arrive Saturday morning, a statement said.
While it is not known exactly how many people were inside the church-run school when it collapsed, teachers said about 700 students aged three to 20 years old attended on a regular basis.
“We have had three or four ambulances operating through the night,” said Rob Drouen, head of the ICRC delegation in Haiti.
It is very difficult to estimate the number of people in the building when it collapsed because it was not a regular school day, Drouen said. There were celebrations with parents and children invited to participate and normal classes were not in session, he said. Eye witness: Rob Drouen, head of the ICRC delegation in Haiti.
