Haiti government calls off search and rescue

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-01-23 20:24

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti: Haiti's government has declared the search and rescue phase for survivors of the country's devastating earthquake over, the United Nations said Saturday.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that 132 people were pulled from the rubble alive by international search and rescue teams.

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Spokeswoman Elizebeth Byears told The Associated Press that rescue teams still searching through the rubble would not be prevented 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."

But she added: "Except for miracles, hope is unfortunately fading."

Humanitarian relief efforts are still being scaled up in the capital Port-au-Prince, Jacmel, Leogane and other areas affected by the quake, Byears said.

The decision comes the day after two people emerged from beneath the rubble of the stricken Haiti capital a stunning 10 days after the quake, temporarily reviving fading belief that others may have survived.

The rescues briefly punched through the grief shrouding legions of survivors as they stream from the city's desolation or find refuge in its hundreds of squalid, makeshift camps. On Saturday, some are expected to gather for the funeral of the archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Msgr. Joseph Serge Miot, near the ruins of his cathedral.

Far away, celebrities and artists made impassioned pleas Friday for charitable donations during an internationally broadcast telethon.

"The Haitian people need our help," said George Clooney, who helped organize the two-hour telecast. "They need to know that they are not alone. They need to know that we still care."

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 U.S. Agency for International Development reported.

Scores of aid organizations, big and small, have stepped up deliveries of food, water, medical supplies and other aid to the homeless and other needy in seaside city. But obstacles remained at every turn to getting help into people's hands.

"I want to leave but I don't have any money. I don't know where to go," said Demonere Mirlande, a 33-year-old mother who lost her home but survived along with her three young children.

Amid the wreckage, rescuers were looking for survivors Friday. The Israeli team that saved 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.

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