IMA Staff Rescued from Hotel

IMA World Health staff members Rick Santos,President and CEO, Dr. Sarla Chand, Vice President of International Programs, and Ann Varghese,Program Officer for Neglected Tropical Diseases traveled to Haiti in January as part of our ongoing work there. After finishing meetings at the Hotel Montana on January 12, they started across the hotel lobby for another meeting when the ground began to shake as a massive earthquake hit the city of Port-au-Prince, leveling the hotel. Moments later, they found themselves trapped in a compartment of rubble near the hotel's front desk. Several beams had fallen across the desk,creating a space barely large enough for them to sit upright. They were trapped in this space for 55 hours until they were rescued, using their cellphones and laptop computers to light the cramped space.

Sarla was able to squeeze through some spaces in the rubble and tried to find a way to make contact with someone on the outside. She tried three different openings but they all lead to more darkness. Hours turned to days as they waited and prayed to be saved. Finally, Sarla was able to see the glow of a flashlight from a French rescue team.The three were pulled from the building, had their vital signs checked, and were transported to a hospital. Amazingly, they only sustained cutsand bruises.

Trapped near them in the collapse were colleagues Rev. Samuel W. Dixon, Jr., IMA boardmember and the Deputy General Secretary of Global Health & United Methodist Committee on Relief, and Rev. Clint Raab, a leader in The United Methodist Church's mission volunteer program. Sadly,Rev. Dixon and Rev. Raab died from injuries sustained in the collapse.

In addition to the three staff members from headquarters, IMA's five Haitian staff who work in our Port-au-Prince office also survived the earthquake, as did their family members. Because of the damage and aftermath of the quake, they are currently being relocated.