11 Days After Haiti Quake, Survivor Rescued

The Haitian government may have called off the search and rescue units of Haiti but that did not put an end to one more life saved by the Greek and French rescue teams.

Several masked onlookers cheered as Wismond Exantus, a clerk in a hotel grocery store, was rescued Saturday after eleven (11) days of being trapped under more than sixteen (16) feet of rubble when his place of employment collapsed around, and on top, of him.

Exantus' brother got the attention of a Greek rescue team on Saturday after hearing his brother from underneath the crumbled store. He was in good condition, smiling and very happy to see daylight again.

The rescue team was able to dig out a hole but the hole was too small for the men to crawl through so female members of the rescue team took the lead and crawled in. Exantus was found trapped under what used to be a desk with very little room to spare. One French and one Greek woman reached the exhausted survivor, gave him water and finished cutting away the debris.

The store in which Exantus worked was a partially wooden structure and when it collapsed the falling wood created more air pockets than a solid brick or block structure would have which is most likely the reason why Exantus was able to survive. He survived, partially, due to the cola, cookies and beer that he was able to find while trapped. "I would eat anything I found," he said. "After the quake I didn't know when it was day and when it was night."

Exantus told the Associated Press, "I was hungry, but every night I thought about the revelation that I would survive." He added, "It was God who was tucking me away in his arms. It gave me strength".

Exantus believed there might be others trapped in the same building but no other survivors were found.

U.N. spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said 132 people had been pulled alive from collapsed buildings. Adding Mr. Exantus the total number is 133.

Experts have reported that the chance of finding survivors drops dramatically after 72 hours. The more time passes, the less likely the odds of finding anyone alive.

The rescue of Exantus comes when there are mass graves being dug, sparse funeral services and much despair.

U.N. relief workers said they are shifting focus to critical to care for the thousands living in squalid, makeshift camps that lack sanitation.

Though the search and rescue has officially been halted, this by no means will stop a rescue team from trying to save a life if there is any indication of a survivor needing help.