A week and four days after a huge and destructive earthquake hit the island of Haiti, the nation’s government has called off search and rescue efforts. This means foreign and local teams will no longer look for survivors in the rubble of the country’s collapsed buildings and infrastructure. Nonetheless, rescuers were able to squeeze in one last success story.
A French team found a 23-year-old man today by digging through what remained of a fruit and vegetable store. Onlookers cheered as he was placed on a stretcher. He seemed to be in good health. "Life doesn't stop when a government says stop," Lt. Col. Christophe Renou, a French Civil Protection official who is part of a team working at the site told AP. "There is still some hope, but it is going to take some luck and God's help because there are so many destroyed buildings."
Authorities are hoping aid teams will redirect their efforts towards providing care for victims of the earthquake now living on the street and in makeshift camps where sanitation is poor, and the spread of disease is a major concern. The United Nations said today that Haiti’s government has preliminarily confirmed 111,481 bodies.
