Parishioners killed in quake-damaged historic Haiti church

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


Parishioners killed in quake-damaged historic Haiti church
Two Haitians walk past a church destroyed during an earthquake in Les Anglais on August 14, 2021. At least 1,297 people were killed in the 7.2-magnitude quake that struck Saturday about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the west of the densely populated capital Port-au-Prince, which was devastated in a massive 2010 quake. Reginald LOUISSAINT JR / AFP.

by Amelie Baron



LES ANGLAIS (AFP).- Its bell tower and yellow walls a sharp contrast with Haiti's blue tropical sky, the historic Immaculee Conception church was the pride of Les Anglais, until it was destroyed by an earthquake Saturday, burying several faithful inside.

On August 14, at exactly 8:29 am (1229 GMT), a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southern Haiti, reducing the church's facade and steeple to a pile of rubble in seconds.

At least 17 people were crushed to death by the collapsing wall and roof.

"I had just finished celebrating the 6:30 am morning mass and had entered the presbytery to have coffee before returning to celebrate baptisms" when the quake struck, said parish priest Wilson Exantus Andre.

"The oldest of the deceased was 24 years old. What is hard is that a woman who has only two children, 18 years old and 3 years old, lost them both," the priest, still in shock, told AFP on Monday.

The bodies of all of the victims were pulled out of the ruins of the church.

The massive quake killed more than 1,400 people across Haiti, according to a preliminary official toll reported on Monday.

Just seconds

"It was a beautiful church with very beautiful architecture," said the priest. "It was part of the national heritage, it was the pride of the people of Les Anglais, who never missed an opportunity to talk about it."

But in just a few seconds, the church, built in 1907, was destroyed.

Only part of the nave and the corrugated iron roof withstood the earthquake and its incessant aftershocks. Some of the church's wooden benches were covered in piles of stones that used to be the steeple.

Two people trapped under the rubble were rescued with help from heavy equipment rushed in by workers with a Taiwanese construction company that happened to be working nearby, the priest said.

The survivors were taken to a hospital in the nearby town of Port-a-Piment.

Stunned residents of the coastal hamlet exchanged stories of what they lost in the quake outside the church ruins on Monday.

"It's a tragedy really, we can't believe how it all fell so quickly," one of them said.

They each spoke of relatives killed during the disaster, as nearby a lone child's shoe, black in color but now covered in white dust, lay in the church square.


© Agence France-Presse










Today's News

August 18, 2021

What constitutes art sales under duress? A dispute reignites the question.

World-renowned artist Mark di Suvero exhibits paintings at San Luis Obispo Museum of Art

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation acquires rare Paul Revere tankard

Guarding the last likeness of a loathed dictator? It's a thankless job.

Pérez Art Museum Miami announces new acquisitions by thirteen artists for permanent collection

National Endowment for the Humanities announces new grants

Highly-anticipated "The Art of Banksy" exhibition opens in Chicago

Earliest Hong Kong banknote ever discovered to be offered at Dix Noonan Webb

Antwerp-based DMW Gallery and Base-Alpha Gallery join forces to open a new gallery in Brussels

Michael Krebber's first solo exhibition in Italy on view at The Antonio Dalle Nogare Foundation

Chairman of H&H Classics, Simon Hope, to sell part of his private collection at Duxford

Taschen publishes a definitive survey of Kengo Kuma's oeuvre

Paul Holberton to publish "Towards the Sun: The Artist-Traveller at the Turn of the Twentieth Century"

Powerhouse welcomes new Chief Operating Officer

Parishioners killed in quake-damaged historic Haiti church

Lincoln Center hopes a $20 million donation will help fuel a revival

Ankara print dresses? These aren't Shakespeare's 'Merry Wives.'

It's never too late to record your first album

Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery reopens with exhibition of works by Mike Cloud

Recent work by artist Aaron Nachtailer presented alongside the Unesco monuments in Ravenna

UK adults planning 66m trips to museums and galleries this summer

Palazzo Biscari presents "Mondo: Museo Archeologico del Reale"

A soprano with a bottomless appetite for risk

Greenwich Living Design has new name, new look, new location

The Facts You Need to Consider Before playing online casinos

INJ Architecture Design solutions and steps

Why Mezzanine Floor Inspection is Necessary

How to Grow a Massive Instagram Following

Top Reasons Why Casinos Are Gaining Wide Acceptance

How to Detoxify the Extra Amount of Cocaine from your Body?

Interview: Yujie Jiang, AR Visual Designer, Talks About AR Technology Power In Our Life




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful