Lancashire firefighters help rescue two people in Haiti (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Lancashire firefighters help rescue two people in Haiti

2:19pm Monday 18th January 2010 in

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FIREFIGHTERS from Carnforth and Halton have helped rescue two people from the rubble of buildings flattened by an earthquake that has devastated the Carabean island of Haiti.

Mark Monkhouse, of Carnforth, and Graham Mossop, of Halton, are part of a team of 60 UK firefighters that have flown out to help rescue survivors of the disaster.

A 40-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man have been tunnelled from beneath the shattered remains of their homes by the UK team - who have been experiencing aftershocks from the earthquake, which hit on Tuesday last week.

John McKie, of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, who is leading the team in Haiti, said: “A 40-year-old woman was rescued from a building close to the supermarket. She was suffering from dehydration and had pressure sores. The teams worked for three to four hours on the extrication.

“A 60-year-old man has also been rescued who was in bed at the time of earthquake. Once located it took the team six to seven hours of tunnelling to reach him. He recovered well and only had minor injuries.”