Haiti quake: NZ toddler found alive under father's body
January 14
A two-year-old New Zealand girl has been found alive under the body of her dead father in earthquake-devastated Haiti.
Her mother, New Zealand woman Emily Rejouis, had been desperately searching for her husband and three daughters when she pulled Alyahna from the rubble, family members say
Ms Rejouis was at work when the quake struck but her Haitian husband Emmanuel and their three daughters were trapped under the Port-au-Prince hotel where the family lived.
Her two other daughters, Zenzie and Kofie-Jade, are still buried under toppled buildings.
Ms Rejouis's brother, Jamie Larnach, said they had heard via text message that Alyahna had been saved.
Members of the Rotary Club in Haiti and an Irish non-profit organisation are with Ms Rejouis at the building where her daughters are trapped, trying to help free them.
"We are thankful for all the help that we've received," Mr Larnach said.
Ms Rejouis, rang her Auckland-based stepsister, Caroline Larnach, on a borrowed satellite phone last night.
She had returned from the collapsed United Nations building to the Karibe Hotel in Port-au-Prince, to find it devastated.
DISTRAUGHT: Kiwi mum Emily Rejouis is searching for her daughters, Zenzie, 3, and Kofie-Jade, 5, in earthquake-stricken Haiti. Her husband, Emmanuel has died. Youngest daughter Alyahna, 2, has been found alive.
"Emily was at work when the earthquake struck ... she found her way to the hotel where Emmanuel was with the three little girls," Ms Larnach said last night.
"When she got there the hotel was collapsed and she had no way of knowing what had happened to her family."
An emotional Ms Larnach said the family was desperate to get help to find her stepsister's family.
"We're just absolutely desperate to have some help for our family. We're just absolutely distraught with what's happening," she said.
"We need support from the New Zealand Government and from any services that are represented in Haiti."