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School collapses in Haiti: UN Soldiers help with rescue efforts
A school has collapsed in Haiti, trapping an unknown number of people in the rubble.
UN Radio's Ben Malor spoke to MINUSTAH spokesperson Sophie Boutaud-de la Combe to find out more.
Ben: Tells us exactly what has happened?
Sophie: MINUSTAH soldiers and police are helping the Haitian Civil Protection Authority and the Haitian Red Cross to search through the rubble of a school building in Petionville that collapsed late this morning killing 100 semi number of children and injuring others. When the floor of the three-storey building suddenly collapsed on the lower floor crushing the classroom below and trapping survivors and victims in the rubble.
Ben: It is clear how many people, how many students may have been injured or even killed ?
Sophie: No, not at this time, it is too early to say. The UN blue helmets are working, seriously, along hundreds of Haitians civilians who rushed to the scene to help to rescue those trapped and recover the body of victims. Military engineers from Chile, Ecuador and Brazil are on site assisting with the removal of heavy pieces of concrete and cutting through metal rods. UN police are also providing crowd control. Which is rendered difficult by the large numbers of people who have gathered at the site. And the rescuers are saying that the on-lookers are blocking the access of vehicles and equipment and they are appealing to the crowd to allow those vehicles to get through.
Ben: These appeals to the on-lookers, the curious people. How has this been received by the people of Port-au-Prince?
Sophie: Well, the media are passing those appeal and the civil protection authorities is also appealing for heavy cutting equipment to be brought to the scene to help rescuers in the efforts to get the children that still trap under tons of reinforced concrete
Ben: Do we know what caused this building to collapse?
Sophie: Not at this point yet.
Ben: And right now what more can you tell us apart from MINUSTAH troops, any other UN agencies involved in helping deal with this disaster?
Sophie: Everybody is involved. It is very difficult to get access because of what I said about the large number of on-lookers who are blocking access. But everybody tries to help. The national authority who are in charge of rescuing those poor children.
Sophie Boutaud de la Combe speaking there to UN Radio's Ben Malor about the collapse of La Promesse College, in Petionville, a suburb of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince
(duration: 3'01")
