The daughter of a New Zealand woman working in quake-devastated Haiti has been found alive under her father's dead body among the rubble of their hotel room.
Emily Sanson-Rejouis, 37, who works for the United Nations, made a distraught call to family in New Zealand via satellite phone last night, saying her French-Haitian husband, Emmanuel Sanson-Rejouis, and their three young New Zealand-born daughters were missing in Port-au-Prince and she was struggling to find help among the chaos.
Auckland-based Caroline Larnach, Ms Sanson-Rejouis' stepsister, said today that one of the children, 2-year-old Alyahana, was found alive beneath her father's body. She had one broken leg and the other might be broken, she said.
The family was hoping and praying the other children, Kofie-Jade, 5, and Zenzie, 3, were alive.
Earlier, Ms Sanson-Rejouis heard at least one of her children crying beneath the rubble, Ms Larnach said.
"She can still hear at least one of her children and she's trying to get them out," said said.
"She can hear the children, she can hear her children's cries, she can't get in, she can't speak to them."
Ms Larnach said Ms Sanson-Rejouis was desperate for help but no aid was available.
"She's trying to do what she can physically but the building's collapsed."
Ms Sanson-Rejouis was at work when the earthquake struck and was not harmed.
The hotel where the family were staying, the Karibe, was one of many buildings destroyed yesterday. The 7.0 magnitude quake left so much destruction that authorities have no idea how many lives have been lost, other than to say it may be more than 100,000.
Ms Sanson-Rejouis, who grew up in Nelson, met her husband while working for the UN in eastern Europe, , later shifting with the agency to Haiti where some of Mr Sanson-Rejouis' family are based.
The couple's children were all born in New Zealand.
Ms Larnarch said her family had tried all afternoon to contact Ms Sanson-Rejouis after hearing about the quake, and finally heard from her about 7.30pm after she borrowed the satellite phone.
Ms Sanson-Rejouis later found her husband's cellphone in the rubble and again contacted family.
Ms Larnach said family were staying in touch with Foreign Affairs, who were communicating with their Australian, British and French counterparts to check what representation was available in the quake-hit region. She had also been in touch with international aid agencies.
"We are just trying to do everything we can to find out if there are any groups that can help us," she said. "If there are any organisations or people in New Zealand that can help us find our sister, and help her and her family ... "
Meanwhile, international agencies have been putting out requests for emergency aid, while others have been busy trying to reach their staff in Port-au-Prince to confirm they were safe.
Both Unicef and Save the Children said their own offices had been among those buildings damaged, as was the UN building in which Ms Sanson-Rejouis was working.
Unicef New Zealand said any working phones were being used to co-ordinate the emergency response.
"We have very little information at the moment, but early reports are that the population has sustained significant damage, including damage to our own office. We expect to have more information tomorrow," executive director Dennis McKinlay said last night.
"In the meantime, Unicef is working both locally and internationally to respond to the humanitarian needs that may arise from the earthquake, such as lack of clean water and sanitation, and the spread of diseases."
Kiwi mum hears children's cries
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