Rescuers race to find Haiti quake survivors as death toll hits 1297 - CNA

HUMANITARIAN CORRIDOR

Footage of Saturday's aftermath posted on social media showed residents reaching into narrow openings in piles of fallen masonry to pull shocked and distraught people from the debris of walls and roofs that had crumbled around them.

Access to the worst-hit areas was complicated by a deterioration in law and order that has left key access roads in parts of Haiti in the hands of gangs. In a video posted on social media, one gang leader said the armed groups had declared a truce along the route to Les Cayes.

Chandler said boats and helicopters were being used to bring in aid but the government was working to establish safe access by road. A first convoy of aid had made it through by land to the region of Les Cayes where, he said, several hospitals had been badly damaged.

"Those that are functional are receiving an overflow of patients, so the personnel is literally overwhelmed," he said.

Following Moise's assassination, which authorities have alleged was carried out by a group of largely Colombian mercenaries and Haitian accomplices, Prime Minister Henry said officials would aim to hold elections for a new president as soon as possible.

However, reports this week suggested that the vote initially earmarked for September would not take place until November. The chaos unleashed by Saturday's disaster is likely to make the task of holding prompt elections harder still.

Haiti has long been politically unstable and Haitians have also suffered from problems stemming from international aid efforts and peace-keeping deployments during the past decade.

A sexual misconduct scandal centering on Oxfam International blighted the record of charity workers in Haiti, while a cholera outbreak linked to UN peacekeepers led to thousands of deaths. Twitter tennis star Naomi Osaka, whose father's family are from Haiti, expressed sorrow on Twitter, saying she would give all the prize money she won at a tournament next week to the relief efforts.

"I know our ancestors blood is strong," she said, "we'll keep rising."

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2021-08-15 14:50:22Z
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