16 pulled alive from Haiti peacekeeping building three days after earthquake

The now-collapsed structure previously served as the regional office of a UN peacekeeping mission

A drone photograph of the damage caused by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Los Cayos, Haiti, on Saturday (EPA)

At least 16 people were pulled out alive from under debris in a Haitian town, three days after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean country over the weekend, Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency confirmed.

The rescuers also pulled out nine bodies from the same rubble during the operation at in Brefèt, a town in Les Cayes. More than 1,900 people have died and 9,900 were injured, according to the agency, after the quake jolted the south-western part of the western hemisphere’s poorest nation on Saturday, razing parts of towns and triggering landslides.

The now-collapsed structure was previously functional and served as the regional office of a United Nations peacekeeping mission for stability in the region. The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) started in 2004 and lasted until 2017.

The mission aided Haiti in recovery and reconstruction after the 2010 earthquake which killed at least 220,000 and torpedoed the nation’s economy and infrastructure, delivering a severe blow to the population.

Haiti is also battling rains and flooding in the aftermath of the earthquake due to the Tropical Depression Grace which started late Monday, multiplying the woes of people already devastated by the quake. Among the affected are southern seaside towns like Jacmel, Les Cayes and Marigot, reported The Haitian Times.

The total extent of damage due to the tropical storm is yet to be announced by the government. Locals have been forced to pick up their bed-ridden family members and relatives to escape the storm Grace and many spent the night homeless on streets after their houses crumbled in the quake, The Haitian Times reported.